Mortals Read The Last Olympian
by Destruction's Daughter
Summary: As she was forced back into her slumbers, Gaea removed the Mist. Follow Percy as his classmates and Camp friends read his thoughts and, in the classmates case, learn more about the Titan War. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

Mortals Read the Last Olympian

**I'm back! And I have a new story! Whoopee! I decided to do this because today is August eighteenth, at least for me, which means it's Percabeth's anniversary! *Fangirl squeal***

** You guys actually have no idea how many stories I have written that haven't been published. It's so I'm not overwhelmed in pressure to update, but yeah. This is just a side project; something to do if I'm suffering from writers block and want to update something. So, yeah, no regular updates.**

** But, on to the storyline!**

** At the end of the Giant War (I'm going to presume a) the gods win and b) all the Seven survive. Don't like, don't read) Gaea, as she goes back to sleep, pulls one final trick. She removes the Mist, and the gods **_**can't seem to get it back! Agh!**_** Anyway, Percy goes back to Goode and they read . . . Yes, you guessed it, The Last Olympian! Whoopee! (Wow I say that a lot. . .) but only because I'm too lazy to do the others before it. I may do the Son of Neptune and the Mark of Athena, and maybe the House of Hades and whatever happens to be the fifth one, if I feel like it. I may change a few things, just coz I feel like it, but it's not going to be anything big, like I may add in 'I raised and eyebrow and said,' rather then just 'I said,' purely because I think it's more realistic. Sue me.**

** This will include some OCs (because, seriously, Percy never mentions **_**any**_** of his Goode friends/classmates) possible OOCness, because, seriously, a) Percy and Annabeth **_**will not**_** and, I repeat, **_**will not**_** come out of Tartarus the exact same as they went in, and b) I'm not Rick Riordan, nor do I wish to be, so I will not be able to make them the exact same R.R makes them. Again, sue me.**

** Characters: Percy J, Nancy B, Matt S, Paul B and a little bit of Annabeth C, Jason G, Thalia (I'm not putting her last name because she wouldn't want me to), Hazel L, Leo V, Frank Z, Rachel D, and basically all of Percy's Camp friends, and maybe the odd god. Idek. **

** Ok, you're probably all fed up of my ramblings, but, if you've made it this far, here are some internet blue cookies (::) (::)! Whoopee! (Yes, there are phrases I repeat a lot, such as 'Basically', 'Whoopee!', 'Sue me', and 'If/because I feel like it/want to', because, seriously people, I do things because a) I want to, and b) I want to. You're motivation is nice, but in all honesty, your opinions mean little to be. Sure, it's nice that people think you're a good writer, but I give less then a shit about flames. Sue me.) (Bet y'all forgot that was all it brackets, huh? Huh? No? Fine then. Suite yourself.)**

** To those who read all this, skip the Authors note in the middle, because you all obviously know that the only A/Ns that really matter in may story is the one at the start. (::) one more cookie, because I'm nice and I feel like it.**

_Percy POV_

Ah, Goode High. Memories. Not good, but better then my past ten months. I walked into the door, first day of Junior Year, wondering what the Mortal's reactions would be to my reappearance after 10 months of being M.I.A. I walked through the halls, and managed to catch snippets of people's conversations before they recognised me, even under my hunched posture, my black Yankees cap that cast my eyes into shadow and my grim face, so different to my usual goofy grin.

"I hear Mr. B's stepson came back a few days ago-"

"I wish he'd stayed gone-"

"Wonder what happened to him-"

"Is that him?"

The last comment, of course talking about me, got them looking over at me. I kept my head firmly down and walked towards the office, occasionally checking over my shoulder, as had become a habit recently. I got my schedule and locker number from the lady at the desk before walking to my locker.

I, of course, got a few weird stares as I walked, but I ignored them. I left my locker bare except for my books, and a picture of Annabeth.

**(Hey, you! Yeah, you! I know you skipped the A/N at the start so go back and read it! You need to! Okay, G'bye)**

"Who's this, Jackson? Your girlfriend?" a painfully annoying jock named Jared asked mockingly, creeping up behind me.

That was about as far as he got before I pinned against the lockers, my right forearm placed across his throat. "Don't," I said slowly through gritted teeth. "Sneak up. On me. Unless. You want. To die. _Painfully._ GOT IT?!" I shouted the last two words.

He nodded about as much as you could with something pressed against your throat. Then I turned back to my locker. "And to answer your question; yes, she is my girlfriend."

They nodded and started backing away slowly.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not an animal. I'm not going to attack you if you run away quickly, but if you sneak up on me, it's instinct. So, goodbye."

They ran away as fast as their legs could carry them.

I went to my first class; English with Paul.

"Good morning class. Over the course of the next few lessons, we are going to be reading a book called _The Last Olympian_ which is about the Titian War last year,, which is in the point of view of a demigod with a big part to play in the War. Any questions?"

I rose my hand shakily. "Will we be reading about the Giant War."

Paul frowned. "I suppose, after this."

"Please don't," I practically begged. "Living through it once was enough for me."

Paul smiled softly. "If you want. Would you like to read first?"

"Okay," I said. "Why not?"

Just then, the door burst open, to reveal a girl with bright orange hair and freckles that looked like someone had spray painted her face with liquid Cheetos and a boy with shaggy black hair and dull brown eyes like a pit bull's. "Sorry we're late," the girl said breathlessly. "We couldn't find the classroom."

"That's okay Miss. . ." Paul trailed off.

"Bobofit, sir."

I chocked on the water I was drinking. "Nancy Bobofit?" I asked incredulously.

"Um, yeah. Do I know you?"

"The name's Percy Jackson, remember? Yancy Academy, 7th grade?"

"Oh yeah. Didn't you push me into the fountain?"

"Well," I said grinning. "Are you aware of the Greek gods?"

"Yeah." She frowned, not seeing where this was going.

"Well, remember the stories about how they used to 'hook up' with mortals? And have children, who were demigods?" I replied, waiting for her to get it.

"You're a demigod?" most of the class asked incredulously.

"Yup," I said, popping the 'p'. "Son of Poseidon. So, I didn't push you, I made the water grab you. Like this." I did a demonstration, and made massive watery hands, before putting them back in whoever's water bottle they happen to have come from. "Anyway, let's start reading!"

"**Chapter 1**," I read, "**I go cruising with explosives**."

**Yeah, bit of a long intro their, but I wanted to make sure I got everything in that would happen on Percy's first day back at school after the Giant War. Whatever. And, if you **_**still**_** haven't read the A/N at the start, **_**read it now**_**! Otherwise, you'll probably be very confused. I promise, I only have long A/Ns at the start of my stories, mainly because they're explaining the plot line, just an FYI.**


	2. I Go Cruising With Explosives

**Chapter 1 - I go cruising with explosives**

**No A/N this time, just story :)**

_No-one/Everyone's POV_

"**I go Cruising With Explosives**," Percy read, then groaned. "Great, my point of view _and_ the first chapter is depressing." He ignored everyone's questioning glances.

**The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car.**

"Huh?" Nancy asked. "Isn't that a bit dramatic?"

"Nope," Percy replied, but refused to elaborate.

**Up until then, I was having a great afternoon. Technically I wasn't supposed to be driving because I wouldn't turn sixteen for another week, but my mom and my stepdad, Paul, took my friend Rachel and me to this private stretch of beach on the South Shore, and Paul let us borrow his Prius for a short spin. **

"That was really irresponsible of you Mr. B," a girl named Marisa reprimanded.

Percy stifled a laugh.

**Now, I know you're thinking, **_**Wow, that was really irresponsible of him, **_

"You mortals are so predictable," Percy said conversationally.

_**blah, blah, blah, **_**but Paul knows me pretty well. He's seen me slice up demons and leap out of exploding school buildings, so he probably figured taking a car a few hundred yards wasn't exactly the most dangerous thing I'd ever done. **

"Not by a long shot," Percy said again.

"What is the most dangerous thing you've ever done?" Cara, stereotypical popular cheerleader supreme.

"It would either be a) holding the sky, b) hand to hand combat with Atlas, c) hand to hand combat with Kronos, d) hand to hand combat with Gaea, e) going through Tartarus, f) the battle of Manhattan, g) the Giant War as a whole, or h) - actually, I've done a ton of dangerous things, I don't want to categorize them too much."

The class was astounded.

**Anyway, Rachel and I were driving along. It was a hot August day. Rachel's red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. I'd never seen her in anything but ratty T-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before, and she looked like a million golden drachmas. **

"Someone's got a crush," Jared teased.

Percy, not looking up from the book, said, "And this is coming from a boy who has a new girlfriend every week, whereas I have been in the same relationship for over a year, so shut the fuck up, and listen to the story."

**"Oh, pull up right there!" she told me. **

**We parked on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. The sea is always one of my favorite places, but today it was especially nice—glittery green and smooth as glass, as though my dad was keeping it calm just for us. **

**My dad, by the way, is Poseidon. He can do stuff like that. **

"How many half siblings do you have, you know with Poseidon having so many demigod children?" Marisa asked.

"There's the Cyclopes, but they don't really count because they're not human, but no demigod half-siblings as far as I'm aware, as the Big Three - Zeus Poseidon and Hades - vowed to have no more demigod children after World War II, but it didn't really work out."

**"So." Rachel smiled at me. "About that invitation." **

**"Oh . . . right." I tried to sound excited. I mean, she'd asked me to her family's vacation house on St. Thomas for three days. I didn't get a lot of offers like that. My family's idea of a fancy vacation was a weekend in a rundown cabin on Long Island with some movie rentals and a couple of frozen pizzas, and here Rachel's folks were willing to let me tag along to the Caribbean. **

"Cool! Go!" Matt Sloan shouted out (he was the boy who came in with Nancy). "You shouldn't even really need to consider!"

Percy scowled. "Shut up Sloan, I don't give a damn about your opinion," he spat, glaring at Matt.

**Besides, I seriously needed a vacation. This summer had been the hardest of my life. The idea of taking a break even for a few days was really tempting. **

"Even more reason to go!" Matt said. A glare from Percy shut him up.

**Still, something big was supposed to go down any day now. I was "on call" for a mission.**

"What mission?" Samantha asked. She was ignored.

**Even worse, next week was my birthday. **

"How is that a bad thing?" Nancy asked. She couldn't believe Percy was a hero. _Percy!_

"Perhaps if you let me _read the book_ you would find out," Percy said, exasperated.

**There was this prophecy that said when I turned sixteen, bad things would happen. **

"Bad things?" Benjamin asked.

"Doesn't even cover it," Percy replied.

"Oh."

**"Percy," she said, "I know the timing is bad. But it's **_**always **_**bad for you, right?" **

**She had a point. **

**"I really want to go," I promised. "It's just—" **

**"The war." **

**I nodded. I didn't like talking about it, but Rachel knew. Unlike most mortals, she could see through the Mist—the magic veil that distorts human vision. She'd seen monsters. She'd met some of the other demigods who were fighting the Titans and their allies. She'd even been there last summer when the chopped-up Lord Kronos rose out of his coffin in a terrible new form, and she'd earned my permanent respect by nailing him in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush. **

"AWESOME!" Jared said, then seemed to remember he was complementing a friend of his arch nemesis.

**She put her hand on my arm. "Just think about it, okay? We don't leave for a couple of days. My dad . . ." Her voice faltered. **

**"Is he giving you a hard time?" I asked. **

**Rachel shook her head in disgust. "He's trying to be **_**nice **_**to me, which is almost worse. He wants me to go to Clarion Ladies Academy in the fall." **

"I've always wanted to go there," Cara said dreamily. Samantha nodded along with her.

**"The school where your mom went?" **

**"It's a stupid finishing school for society girls, all the way in New Hampshire. Can you see me in finishing school?" **

**I admitted the idea sounded pretty dumb. Rachel was into urban art projects and feeding the homeless and going to protest rallies to "Save the Endangered Yellow-bellied Sapsucker" and stuff like that. I'd never even seen her wear a dress. It was hard to imagine her learning to be a socialite. **

"Okay, that's really hard to picture," Samantha allowed.

**She sighed. "He thinks if he does a bunch of nice stuff for me, I'll feel guilty and give in." **

**"Which is why he agreed to let me come with you guys on vacation?" **

**"Yes . . . but Percy, you'd be doing me a huge favor. It would be **_**so **_**much better if you were with us. Besides, there's something I want to talk—" She stopped abruptly. **

**"Something you want to talk about?" I asked. "You mean . . . so serious we'd have to go to St. Thomas to talk about it?" **

**She pursed her lips. "Look, just forget it for now. Let's pretend we're a couple of normal people. We're out for a drive, and we're watching the ocean, and it's nice to be together." **

**I could tell something was bothering her, but she put on a brave smile. The sunlight made her hair look like fire. **

Some boys wolf whistled.

Percy glared at them.

They shut up.

**We'd spent a lot of time together this summer. I hadn't exactly planned it that way, but the more serious things got at camp, the more I found myself needing to call up Rachel and get away, just for some breathing room. I needed to remind myself that the mortal world was still out there, away from all the monsters using me as their personal punching bag. **

"Is it really that bad?" Declan asked. Everyone thought it would be pretty cool to be a demigod.

"Worse," Percy replied. "Remember in freshman orientation, when I 'blew up' the band room?" He made air quotes around 'blew up'. Everyone nodded. "That wasn't me. That was an _empousa_." **Please say I spelt that right.**

"Oh."

**"Okay," I said. "Just a normal afternoon and two normal people." **

**She nodded. "And so . . . hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?" **

**"Oh . . ." I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows—slow, dumb, and bright red. "Um . . ." **

"Slow," Matt coughed.

"I just said that Matt. Didn't your mother ever tell you; don't copy?"

**I can't pretend I hadn't thought about Rachel. She was so much easier to be around than . . . well, than some other girls I knew. I didn't have to work hard, or watch what I said, or rack my brain trying to figure out what she was thinking. Rachel didn't hide much. She let you know how she felt. **

**I'm not sure what I would have done next—but I was so distracted, I didn't notice the huge black form swooping down from the sky until four hooves landed on the hood of the Prius with a **_**WUMP-WUMP-CRUNCH! **_

_**Hey, boss, **_**a voice said in my head. **_**Nice car! **_

"You can speak to horses?!" Declan asked excitedly. He was like a son of Hermes.

"Yeah, and anything like them. Along with fish, which can be very useful."

**Blackjack the pegasus was an old friend of mine, so I tried not to get too annoyed by the craters he'd just put in the hood; but I didn't think my stepdad would be real stoked. **

"I wasn't," Paul said.

**"Blackjack," I sighed. "What are you—" **

**Then I saw who was riding on his back, and I knew my day was about to get a lot more complicated. **

**"'Sup, Percy." **

**Charles Beckendorf, senior counselor for the Hephaestus cabin, would make most monsters cry for their mommies. He was huge, with ripped muscles from working on the forges every summer, two years older than me, and one of the camp's best armor smiths. He made some seriously ingenious mechanical stuff. A month before, he'd rigged a Greek firebomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a bunch of monsters across country. The explosion took out a whole legion of Kronos's evil meanies as soon as the first harpy went **_**flush. **_

"Awesome!" Declan shouted, standing and punching his fist in the air.

Only a few people noticed Percy's sad face, but they decided not to comment.

**Beckendorf was dressed for combat. He wore a bronze breastplate and war helm with black camo pants and a sword strapped to his side. His explosives bag was slung over his shoulder. **

**"Time?" I asked. **

**He nodded grimly. **

"Time fore what?" Marisa asked.

"You ask more questions then my girlfriend," Percy told her. "And she's a daughter of Athena."

**A clump formed in my throat. I'd known this was coming. We'd been planning for it for weeks, but I'd half hoped it would never happen. **

**Rachel looked up at Beckendorf. "Hi." **

**"Oh, hey. I'm Beckendorf. You must be Rachel. Percy's told me . . . uh, I mean he mentioned you." **

"Nice save," Liam said, nodding his head. Liam was a member of the swim team but, like everyone else, he wasn't friends with Percy.

**Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Good." She glanced at Blackjack, who was clopping his hooves against the hood of the Prius. "So I guess you guys have to go save the world now." **

**"Pretty much," Beckendorf agreed. **

**I looked at Rachel helplessly. "Would you tell my mom—" **

**"I'll tell her. I'm sure she's used to it. And I'll explain to Paul about the hood." **

**I nodded my thanks. I figured this might be the last time Paul loaned me his car. **

"Damn right it was."

"I got my own from the gods after the Giant War, so I don't need yours."

**"Good luck." Rachel kissed me before I could even react. "Now, get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me." **

The boys wolf whistled again.

Percy glared at them again.

They shut up.

**My last view of her was sitting in the shotgun seat of the Prius, her arms crossed, watching as Blackjack circled higher and higher, carrying Beckendorf and me into the sky. I wondered what Rachel wanted to talk to me about, and whether I'd live long enough to find out. **

"Pessimistic much?"

"If you'd have to have lived through everything I had, you'd be pretty pessimistic too."

**"So," Beckendorf said, "I'm guessing you don't want me to mention that little scene to Annabeth." **

**"Oh, gods," I muttered. "Don't even think about it." **

Some people chuckled.

**Beckendorf chuckled, and together we soared out over the Atlantic. **

**It was almost dark by the time we spotted our target. The **_**Princess Andromeda **_**glowed on the horizon—a huge cruise ship lit up yellow and white. From a distance, you'd think it was just a party ship, not the headquarters for the Titan lord. Then as you got closer, you might notice the giant figurehead—a dark-haired maiden in a Greek chiton, wrapped m chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of all the monsters she was being forced to carry. **

**Seeing the ship again twisted my gut into knots. I'd almost died twice on the **_**Princess Andromeda. **_

"Twice?" Lucy squeaked.

"Oh please, that's nothing," Percy scoffed. "I've had more near-death experiences then I care to imagine."

**Now it was heading straight for New York. **

**"You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled over the wind. **

**I nodded. We'd done dry runs at the dockyards in New Jersey, using abandoned ships as our targets. I knew how little time we would have. But I also knew this was our best chance to end Kronos's invasion before it ever started. **

**"Blackjack," I said, "set us down on the lowest stern deck." **

_**Gotcha, boss, **_**he said. **_**Man, I hate seeing that boat. **_

**Three years ago, Blackjack had been enslaved on the **_**Princess Andromeda **_**until he'd escaped with a little help from my friends and me. I figured he'd rather have his mane braided like My Little Pony than be back here again. **

The class laughed, except for Percy who was upset about what would happen at the end of the chapter.

**"Don't wait for us," I told him. **

_**But, boss**_**— **

**"Trust me," I said. "We'll get out by ourselves." **

**Blackjack folded his wings and plummeted toward the boat like a black comet. The wind whistled in my ears. I saw monsters patrolling the upper decks of the ship— **_**dracaenae**_** snake-women, hellhounds, giants, and the humanoid seal-demons known as telkhines—but we zipped by so fast, none of them raised the alarm. We shot down the stern of the boat, and Blackjack spread his wings, lightly coming to a landing on the lowest deck. I climbed off, feeling queasy. **

_**Good luck, boss, **_**Blackjack said. **_**Don't let 'em turn you into horse meat! **_

**With that, my old friend flew off into the night. I took my pen **

"A pen? What is that going to do?" Jared sneered.

"A whole lot of damage that's what."

**out of my pocket and uncapped it, and Riptide sprang to full size—three feet of deadly Celestial bronze glowing in the dusk. **

"Oh."

**Beckendorf pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. I thought it was a map or something. Then I realized it was a photograph. He stared at it in the dim light—the smiling face of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. **

A few girls cooed

**They'd started going out last summer, after years of the rest of us saying, "Duh, you guys like each other!" **

"Most of them were saying that about me and Annabeth behind our backs," Percy interrupted himself.

**Even with all the dangerous missions, Beckendorf had been happier this summer than I'd ever seen him. **

**"We'll make it back to camp," I promised. **

Percy looked down sadly; it was one of the few promises he wasn't able to keep.

**For a ****second I saw worry in his eyes. Then he put on his old confident smile. **

**"You bet," he said. "Let's go blow Kronos back into a million pieces." **

**Beckendorf led the way. We followed a narrow corridor to the service stairwell, just like we'd practiced, but we froze when we heard noises above us. **

**"I don't care what your nose says!" snarled a half-human, half-dog voice—a telkhine. "The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meat loaf sandwich!" **

**"Meat loaf sandwiches are good!" a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!" **

**"Bah, your **_**brain **_**isn't on board!" **

"Good comeback and all, but it's not helping your cause," Marisa said matter-of-factly.

"We don't want to help their cause," Percy reminded her harshly.

**They continued to argue, and Beckendorf pointed downstairs. We descended as quietly as we could. **

**Two floors down, the voices of the telkhines started to fade. **

**Finally we came to a metal hatch. Beckendorf mouthed the words "engine room." **

**It was locked, but Beckendorf pulled some chain cutters out of his bag and split the bolt like it was made of butter. **

"Cool!" Declan declared.

**Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved with his work, he didn't notice us. He was about five feet tall, with slick black seal fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on .**

"Only you, Percy. Only you,"

**I stepped forward, and he tensed, probably smelling something was wrong. He leaped sideways toward a big red alarm button, but I blocked his path. He hissed and lunged at me, but one slice of Riptide, and he exploded into dust. **

**"One down," Beckendorf said. "About five thousand to go." He tossed me a jar of thick green liquid—Greek fire, one of the most dangerous magical substances in the world. **

"Then why are you handling it?" Lucy asked incredulously.

"Because if I didn't, the _Princess Andromeda_ would reach New York, and we'd all die," Percy said matter-of-factly.

**Then he threw me another essential tool of demigod heroes—duct tape. **

"Really? Duct tape?" Jared asked scornfully.

"Yes, duct tape."

**"Slap that one on the console," he said. "I'll get the turbines." **

**We went to work. The room was hot and humid, and in no time we were drenched m sweat. **

**The boat kept chugging along. Being the son of Poseidon and all, I have perfect bearings at sea. Don't ask me how, but I could tell we were at 40.19° North, 71.90° West, making eighteen knots, **

"Cool powers dude!" Declan cheered again.

**which meant the ship would arrive in New York Harbor by dawn. This would be our only chance to stop it. **

"Oh. Not so cool."

"You're saying my powers aren't cool," Percy said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it's just- it's that - Gah! I don't even know!" Declan stuttered.

"I'm just messing with you." Percy rolled his eyes.

**I had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when I heard the pounding of feet on metal steps—so many creatures coming down the stairwell I could hear them over the engines. Not a good sign. **

"Really? Never would've guessed," Cara said, rolling her eyes.

"That's a surprise to me Cara, and people like you and Jared seem a bit too stupid to put two and two together, so I thought I'd help you out."

"Oh. Thanks," Jared replied, then realized he was being insulted. "HEY!"

Percy merely grinned wolfishly in response.

**I locked eyes with Beckendorf. "How much longer?" **

**"Too long." He tapped his watch, which was our remote control detonator. "I still have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Ten more minutes at least." **

**Judging from the sound of the footsteps, we had about ten seconds. **

"Not good," Samantha stated obviously.

"I never would've guessed Samantha," Percy replied dryly.

**"I'll distract them," I said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point." **

**"Percy—" **

**"Wish me luck." **

**He looked like he wanted to argue. The whole idea had been to get in and out without being spotted. **

**But we were going to have to improvise. **

**"Good luck," he said. **

**I charged out the door. **

**A half dozen telkhines were tromping down the stairs. I cut through them with Riptide faster than they could yelp. I kept climbing—past another telkhine, who was so startled he dropped his Lil' Demons lunch box. I left him alive—partly because his lunch box was cool,**

"Seriously Percy?"

"I have another reason."

**partly so he could raise the alarm and hopefully get his friends to follow me rather than head toward the engine room. **

"Oh."

"You seem to be saying that a lot."

**I burst through a door onto deck six and kept running. I'm sure the carpeted hall had once been very plush, but over the last three years of monster occupation the wallpaper, carpet, and stateroom doors had been clawed up and slimed so it looked like the inside of a dragon's throat (and yes, unfortunately, I speak from experience). **

"WHAT?" Lucy screamed.

"Jeez Lucy, you keep screaming every time I have a near death experience you're gonna lose your voice very soon."

**Back on my first visit to the **_**Princess Andromeda, **_**my old enemy Luke had kept some dazed tourists on board for show, shrouded in Mist so they didn't realize they were on a monster-infested ship. Now I didn't see any sign of tourists. I hated to think what had happened to them, but I kind of doubted they'd been allowed to go home with their bingo winnings. **

"What happened to them?" Cara asked Percy.

"Either a) killed by Kronos or b) eaten by monsters. I don't know, nor do I want to."

The mortals looked shocked that this could actually happen.

**I reached the promenade, a big shopping mall that took up the whole middle of the ship, and I stopped cold. In the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain. And in the fountain squatted a giant crab. **

"A giant crab?" Declan asked curiously. "How big?"

"Perhaps if you let me READ THE BOOK you would know," Percy said, glaring.

**I'm not talking "giant" like $7.99 all-you-can-eat Alaskan king crab. I'm talking **_**giant**_** like bigger than the fountain. The monster rose ten feet out of the water. Its shell was mottled blue and green, its pincers longer than my body. **

"Oh."

"Will you please stop the saying 'oh'? It really doesn't add anything of interest and you're just annoying me. If you don't have a _good_ thing to say, as in, a good question, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Everyone looked shocked at Percy's outburst, seeing as he was usually quiet.

**If you've ever seen a crab's mouth, all foamy and gross with whiskers and snapping bits, you can imagine this one didn't look any better blown up to billboard size. Its beady black eyes glared at me, and I could see intelligence in them—and hate. The fact that I was the son of the sea god was not going to win me any points with Mr. Crabby. **

"Mr. Crabby? Really?" Jared asked, eyebrow raised.

"Okay, three things, one, I don't give a soul from the Fields of Punishment about your opinion. Two, could you think of anything better? And three, I wasn't looking for a creative nickname at the time, so shut up."

**"**_**FFFFffffff, **_**" it hissed, sea foam dripping from its mouth. The smell coming off it was like a garbage can full of fish sticks that had been sitting in the sun all week. **

**Alarms blared. Soon I was going to have lots of company and I had to keep moving. **

**"Hey, crabby." I inched around the edge of the courtyard. "I'm just gonna scoot around you so—" **

"Not gonna work," Marisa said.

"Really? Never would've guessed."

**The crab moved with amazing speed. It scuttled out of the fountain and came straight at me, pincers snapping. I dove into a gift shop, plowing through a rack of T-shirts. A crab pincer smashed the glass walls to pieces and raked across the room. I dashed back outside, breathing heavily, but Mr. Crabby turned and followed. **

"Did you really think it would be that easy."

"Again, three things, one, I was trying to buy myself some time. Two, you never know with monsters. And three, just shut up the lot of you."

Just then, out of the shadows, a hellhound burst forward. The class screamed, but Percy laughed and stood up before walking towards it.

"Are you insane?" Lucy hissed.

"Maybe, but this hellhound is friendly."

To prove Percy's point the hellhound barked and wagged its tail.

"Hey Mrs. O'Leary," Percy said. "What brings you here?"

Mrs. O'Leary barked in response.

"Okay Corpse Boy, out you come," Percy called, seemingly to the wall.

"Aw, how'd you know it was me?" a voice whined, before a boy, maybe 14, stepped out from the shadows.

"You're the only one who would shadow travel my dog here and then hide in shadows."

"Damn, should've thought of that," the boy sighed. "What're you doing?"

"Reading a book about the Second Titan War."

"Cool! Can I read? Please, please, please, please-"

"Jeez Nicky you sound like you did when you were ten," Percy teased.

"DON'T CALL ME NIcKY! It's Nico. Say it with me, Nee-co."

"You sound like Charon," Percy said, smirking.

"Oh gods damn it."

The class watched in confusion.

"Hello Nico," Paul greeted.

"Hey Paul, how are you?"

"I'm good thank you."

"Wait," Marisa interrupted. "How do you know Nico, Mr. Blofis, Percy."

"Nicky here-," Percy started.

"NICO!"

"Nico here," Percy corrected, "is my little cousin."

"I thought your mom was an only child," Marisa said, confused.

"My dad's side of things, Marisa. The godly side."

"The only living son of Hades, at your service," Nico said, making a sweeping bow.

"Okay then."

Nico sat down. "Are we reading or not?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Okay then. Mrs. O'Leary, you can go."

Mrs. O'Leary barked and ran into the wall before disappearing.

**"There!" a voice said from a balcony above me. "Intruder!" **

**If I'd wanted to create a distraction, I'd succeeded, but this was not where I wanted to fight. If I got pinned down in the center of the ship, I was crab chow. **

"Crab chow? Really Perce?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Crab chow."

**The demonic crustacean **

"Demonic crustacean," Declan snickered

**lunged at me. I sliced with Riptide, taking off the tip of its claw. It hissed and foamed, but didn't seem very hurt. **

"Of course not," Nico sighed. "They never are."

**I tried to remember anything from the old stories that might help with this thing.**

"Don't hurt yourself," Nico said, smirking.

"This has already happened Nicky," Percy reminded him.

"I knew that," Nico grumbled. "And DON'T CALL ME NICKY!"

**Annabeth had told me about a monster crab—something about Hercules crushing it under his foot?**

"Wow, you actually remembered," Nico said, clapping sarcastically.

**That wasn't going to work here. This crab was slightly bigger than my Reeboks. **

"Only slightly," Matt smirked **(Ha! Bet you forgot he was in the story!)**

"Sarcasm, Sloan. Sarcasm."

"You're always sarcastic," Nico said, as though just realizing it.

"Nico, Nico, Nico, are you only just figuring this out?"

"No, but you should know that the Stolls and Leo have been calling you the 'Sarcasm King' recently."

Percy mock-gasped. "The self-titled Kings of Humor give _me_ the title for King of Sarcasm! I'm honored."

"Exactly my point."

**Then a weird thought occurred to me. Last Christmas, my mom and I had brought Paul Blofis to our old cabin at Montauk, where we'd been going forever. Paul had taken me crabbing, and when he'd brought up a net full of the things, he'd shown me how crabs have a chink in their armor, right in the middle of their ugly bellies. **

"Glad to be of help," Paul said, grinning.

**The only problem was getting to said ugly belly. **

**I glanced at the fountain, then at the marble floor, already slick from scuttling crab tracks. I held out my hand, concentrating on the water, and the fountain exploded. Water sprayed everywhere, three stories high, dousing the balconies and the elevators and the windows of the shops. **

"Cool."

**The crab didn't care. It loved water. It came at me sideways, snapping and hissing, and I ran straight at it, screaming, "AHHHHHHH!" **

"What kind of a battle cry is 'AHHHHHHH!'?" Nico asked, eyebrow raised.

"An epic one, just like Tyson's."

The two demigods grinned, and together yelled, "PEANUT BUTTER!" before collapsing into laughter.

The class looked at them as though they'd gone insane, only then to be replaced by chock, as that was the first time most of them had heard Percy laugh in just under two years.

**Just before we collided, I hit the ground baseball-style and slid on the wet marble floor straight under the creature. It was like sliding under a seven-ton armored vehicle. All the crab had to do was sit and squash me, but before it realized what was going on, I jabbed Riptide into the chink in its armor, let go of the hilt, and pushed myself out the backside. **

"NINJA!" Declan shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

Percy snorted. "That's nothing." He refused to elaborate.

**The monster shuddered and hissed. Its eyes dissolved. Its shell turned bright red as its insides evaporated. The empty shell clattered to the floor in a massive heap. **

**I didn't have time to admire my handiwork. I ran for the nearest stairs while all around me monsters and demigods shouted orders and strapped on their weapons. I was empty-handed. Riptide, being magic, would appear in my pocket sooner or later, but for now it was stuck somewhere under the wreckage of the crab, and I had no time to retrieve it. **

"It returns to your pocket?" Nancy asked doubtfully.

"Yup." Percy walked forward at put his pen on Paul's desk before sitting back down.

**In the elevator foyer on deck eight, a couple of _dracaenae _slithered across my path. From the waist up, they were women with green scaly skin, yellow eyes, and forked tongues. From the waist down, they had double snake trunks instead of legs. They held spears and weighted nets, and I knew from experience they could use them. **

"That's not good," Lucy fretted.

Percy smiled gently at Lucy. "You really should stop worrying Luce, I'm here, alive, and in one piece - actually, I take that back. Nearly one piece."

**"What isss thisss?" one said. "A prize for Kronosss!" **

"In your monstrous dreams," Percy and Nico snorted.

**I wasn't in the mood to play break-the-snake, but in front of me was a stand with a model of the ship, like a YOU ARE HERE display. I ripped the model off the pedestal and hurled it at the first _dracaena. _**

**The boat smacked her in the face and she went down with the ship. I jumped over her, grabbed her friend's spear, and swung her around. She slammed into the elevator, and I kept running toward the front of the ship. **

"You've got some moves," Declan commented.

"Again; that was nothing," Percy repeated dismissively.

**"Get him!" she screamed. **

**Hellhounds bayed. An arrow from somewhere whizzed past my face and impaled itself in the mahogany-paneled wall of the stairwell. **

**I didn't care—as long as I got the monsters away from the engine room and gave Beckendorf more time. **

"Very loyal," Lucy said. Percy smiled at her - Lucy was probably his only friend at Goode.

**As I was running up the stairwell, a kid charged down. He looked like he'd just woken up from a nap. **

**His armor was half on. He drew his sword and yelled, "Kronos!" but he sounded more scared than angry. **

**He couldn't have been more than twelve—about the same age I was when I'd first arrived at Camp Half-Blood. **

**That thought depressed me. This kid was getting brainwashed—trained to hate the gods and lash out because he'd been born half Olympian. Kronos was using him, and yet the kid thought I was his enemy. **

"That's really sad," Astoria said. Most people started as she had been silent up until now, like Abelard.

**No way was I going to hurt him. I didn't need a weapon for this. I stepped inside his strike and grabbed his wrist, slamming it against the wall. His sword clattered out of his hand. **

**Then I did something I hadn't planned on. It was probably stupid. It definitely jeopardized our mission, but I couldn't help it. **

"You always can't help it," Nico grumbled.

**"If you want to live," I told him, "get off this ship _now. _Tell the other demigods." Then I shoved him down the stairs and sent him tumbling to the next floor. **

**I kept climbing. **

**Bad memories: a hallway ran past the cafeteria. Annabeth, my half brother Tyson, and I had sneaked through here three years ago on my first visit. **

"Where do I remember Tyson from?" Lucy pretended to think. "Oh, that's right, PEANUT BUTTER!" she, Percy and Nico shouted the last part together.

**I burst outside onto the main deck. Off the port bow, the sky was darkening from purple to black. A swimming pool glowed between two glass towers with more balconies and restaurant decks. The whole upper ship seemed eerily deserted. **

**All I had to do was cross to the other side. Then I could take the staircase down to the helipad—our emergency rendezvous point. With any luck, Beckendorf would meet me there. We'd jump into the sea. My water powers would protect us both, and we'd detonate the charges from a quarter mile away. **

"You're never lucky," Nico told Percy.

"I know, I was stupid to think it would be that easy," Percy sighed, shaking his head.

The other members of the class wondered what'd happened.

**I was halfway across the deck when the sound of a voice made me freeze. "You're late, Percy." **

**Luke stood on the balcony above me, a smile on his scarred face. He wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and flip-flops, like he was just a normal college-age guy, but his eyes told the truth. They were solid gold. **

**"We've been expecting you for days." At first he sounded normal, like Luke. But then his face twitched. A shudder passed through his body as though he'd just drunk something really nasty. His voice became heavier, ancient, and powerful—the voice of the Titan lord Kronos. The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade. "Come, bow before me." **

"If you did, you wouldn't be Percy," Nico said confidently.

**"Yeah, that'll happen," I muttered. **

"See?"

"No-one doubted you Nicky."

"DON'T CALL ME NICKY!"

**Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the swimming pool as if they'd been waiting for a cue. **

"They probably had, looking back on it," Percy said thoughtfully.

**Each was eight feet tall with tattooed arms, leather armor, and spiked clubs. Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at me. Within seconds I was surrounded. A trap: there's no way they could've gotten into position so fast unless they'd known I was coming. **

"You've got a spy," Marisa said.

Percy and Nico looked down sadly. "She died a hero," Percy said softly. Nico nodded in agreement, but no-one else heard.

**I looked up at Luke, and anger boiled inside me. I didn't know if Luke's consciousness was even still alive inside that body. Maybe, the way his voice had changed . . . or maybe it was just Kronos adapting to his new form. I told myself it didn't matter. Luke had been twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him. **

**A voice in my head said: _I have to fight him eventually. Why not now? _**

**According to that big prophecy, I was supposed to make a choice that saved or destroyed the world when I was sixteen. That was only seven days away. Why not now? If I really had the power, what difference would a week make? I could end this threat right here by taking down Kronos. Hey, I'd fought monsters and gods before. **

"Gods?" Liam asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Percy said.

"Elaborate please?"

"Oh, I heard of this," Nico exclaimed. "You fought Ares when you were twelve didn't you? Grover told me! It was so cool!"

"I suppose you lost," Jared sneered.

"No, actually, I won," Percy said smugly.

The class was astounded.

**As if reading my thoughts, Luke smiled. No, he was _Kronos. _I had to remember that. **

**"Come forward," he said. "If you dare." **

"That was so cheesy," Declan said.

**The crowd of monsters parted. I moved up the stairs, my heart pounding. I was sure somebody would stab me in the back, but they let me pass. I felt my pocket and found my pen waiting. I uncapped it, and Riptide grew into a sword. **

"I love that sword," Percy sighed.

"It's gotten me out of a fair few scraps," Nico admitted. "Although I've had it pointed to my throat a more then a few times."

**Kronos's weapon appeared in his hands—a six-foot-long scythe, half Celestial bronze, half mortal steel. Just looking at the thing made my knees turn to Jell-O. But before I could change my mind, I charged. **

**Time slowed down. I mean _literally _slowed down, because Kronos had that power. I felt like I was moving through syrup. My arms were so heavy, I could barely raise my sword. Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe at normal speed and waiting for me to creep toward my death. **

"That's not good," Astoria said worriedly.

**I tried to fight his magic. I concentrated on the sea around me—the source of my power. I'd gotten better at channeling it over the years, but now nothing seemed to happen. **

**I took another slow step forward. Giants jeered. _Dracaenae _hissed with laughter. **

**_Hey, ocean, _****I pleaded. _Any day now would be good. _**

"You're _talking_ to the ocean?" Jared said incredulously. "How lame is that?"

**Suddenly there was a wrenching pain in my gut. The entire boat lurched sideways, throwing monsters off their feet. Four thousand gallons of salt water surged out of the swimming pool, dousing me and Kronos and everyone on the deck. The water revitalized me, breaking the time spell, and I lunged forward. **

"You. . . You just. . . OH MY GODS PERCE! That was _awesome_!" Nico said, sounding like a hyper ten-year-old. "Do you know how long the gods have been trying to do that?!"

**I struck at Kronos, but I was still too slow. I made the mistake of looking at his face— _Luke's face_—a guy who was once my friend. As much as I hated him, it was hard to kill him. **

Nico facepalmed. "He only pretended to be your friend Percy. Jeez!"

**Kronos had no such hesitation. He sliced downward with his scythe. I leaped back, and the evil blade missed by an inch, cutting a gash in the deck right between my feet. **

**I kicked Kronos in the chest. He stumbled backward, but he was heavier than Luke should've been. It was like kicking a refrigerator. **

"Huh? Why?" Marisa pestered.

"I could tell you, but I don't think I will," Percy said smugly. He and Nico kicked back and put their feet on the desk. They loved knowing something Marisa didn't.

**Kronos swung his scythe again. I intercepted with Riptide, but his strike was so powerful, my blade could only deflect it. The edge of the scythe shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm. It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain. I remembered what a sea demon had once said about Kronos's scythe: _Careful, fool. One touch, and the blade will sever your soul_ _from your body. _Now I understood what he meant. I wasn't just losing blood. I could feel my strength, my will, my identity draining away. **

"_How are you not dead?!_" most of the class asked.

Percy let loose a frustrated noise. "Perhaps if you let me read, you would find out," he said, his voice a little higher pitched through trying to remain calm.

**I stumbled backward, switched my sword to my left hand, and lunged desperately. My blade should've run him through, but it deflected off his stomach like I was hitting solid marble. There was no way he should've survived that. **

"HOW DID HE DO THAT?!" Marisa screeched.

"SHUT UP!" Percy screamed back.

**Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke tells me you were never his match at swordplay." **

**My vision started to blur. I knew I didn't have much time. "Luke had a big head," I said. "But at least it was _his _head." **

"Nice comeback Perce," Nico approved.

**"A shame to kill you now," Kronos mused, "before the final plan unfolds. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus." **

**"You'll never get this boat to Manhattan." My arm was throbbing. Black spots danced in my vision. **

**"And why would that be?" Kronos's golden eyes glittered. His face—Luke's face—seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?" **

"How did he know?!" Marisa demanded.

"You said the fucking answer before Marisa!" Percy and Nico exploded. "The _spy!_"

**He looked down at the pool and called, "Nakamura!" **

**A teenage guy in full Greek armor pushed through the crowd. His left eye was covered with a black patch. I knew him, of course: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis. I'd saved his life in the Labyrinth last summer, and in return, the little punk had helped Kronos come back to life. **

Most of the class growled.

**"Success, my lord," Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told." **

**He clapped his hands, and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them. **

**My heart almost stopped. Beckendorf had a swollen eye and cuts all over his face and arms. His armor was gone and his shirt was nearly torn off. **

"NO!" Lucy yelled. After all, Beckendorf had been a good friend to her _only_ friend.

**"No!" I yelled. **

**Beckendorf met my eyes. He glanced at his hand like he was trying to tell me something. _His watch. _**

**They hadn't taken it yet, and that was the detonator. Was it possible the explosives were armed? Surely the monsters would've dismantled them right away. **

"Good, it would suck to be killed _and_ not detonate the explosives," Marisa said approvingly.

"Are you saying it wouldn't suck if we just died?" Percy asked, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, gods, I don't want to think what would've happened if you had died," Nico said, shivering at the thought.

**"We found him amidships," one of the giants said, "trying to sneak to the engine room. Can we eat him now?" **

"Clever," Nico and Marisa said. Nico looked horrified at having said the same thing as her.

**"Soon." Kronos scowled at Ethan. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?" **

**"He was going _toward _the engine room, my lord." **

**"How do you know that?" **

**"Er . . ." Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives." **

**Slowly, I began to understand. Beckendorf had fooled them. When he'd realized he was going to be captured, he turned to make it look like he was going the other way. He'd convinced them he hadn't made it to the engine room yet. The Greek fire might still be primed! But that didn't do us any good unless we could get off the ship and detonate it. **

**Kronos hesitated. **

"He wouldn't be Kronos if he bought the story without checking," Nico sighed, shaking his head sadly.

**_Buy the story, _****I prayed. The pain in my arm was so bad now I could barely stand. **

**"Open his bag," Kronos ordered. **

**One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorf's shoulders. He peered inside, grunted, and turned it upside down. Panicked monsters surged backward. If the bag really had been full of Greek fire jars, we would've all blown up. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches. **

"Peaches?" Declan asked. "Are you serious?"

"Well, considering the Greek Fire was primed to blow up, what was the pack supposed to be filled with?" Percy asked, as though it should be obvious, which it was.

". . . Touché."

**I could hear Kronos breathing, trying to control his anger. **

**"Did you, perhaps," he said, "capture this demigod near the galley?" **

**Ethan turned pale. "Um—" **

**"And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?" **

**Ethan scrambled back in terror, then turned on his heels and ran. **

"Clever boy," Declan said in a pompous tine, drawing laughs from everyone except the demigods - Nico because he didn't laugh, except with his friends; Percy because that sense of humor had been used against him too many times.

**I cursed silently. Now we had only minutes before the bombs were disarmed. I caught Beckendorf's eyes again and asked a silent question, hoping he would understand: _How long? _**

**He cupped his fingers and thumb, making a circle. _Zero. _There was no delay on the timer at all. If he managed to press the detonator button, the ship would blow at once. We'd never be able to get far enough away before using it. The monsters would kill us first, or disarm the explosives, or both. **

"Don't be so pessimistic," Astoria said, albeit worriedly.

"You worried about me?" Percy mock gasped. then viciously, "Last I checked I was just poor Percy Jackson; the freak with no friends!"

"Please Perce," Nico snorted (he seemed to be doing a lot of that). "If anyone has friends, you do. Almost everyone at _both_ Camps are either your friends, or you're their idols. If it's neither you're Octavian, and that's not a good thing."

"And last I checked, I was your friend," Lucy said gently.

Percy smiled at her again. "Okay, correction, _nearly_ no friends at GoodeHigh School."

Nico clapped on the back. "That's the spirit!"

**Kronos turned toward me with a crooked smile. "You'll have to excuse my incompetent help, Percy Jackson. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for weeks." **

**He held out his hand and dangled a little silver bracelet with a scythe charm—the Titan lord's symbol. **

**The wound in my arm was sapping my ability to think, but I muttered, "Communication device . . . spy at camp." **

**Kronos chuckled. "You can't count on friends. **

"Yes! You can!" Nico said, glaring hatefully at the book being held by his best friend / cousin / older brother.

**They will always let you down. **

"No, we won't!" Nico said viciously, his glare becoming even harder. It was almost as scary as Percy's - Percy's looked like miniature hurricanes, and filled you with images of destruction and hate, whereas Nico's looked like a black hellfire.

**Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me, or your friend dies." **

"Knowing Percy, he's never going to surrender," Nico commented.

"Damn right I'm not Corpse Boy."

"Don't call me that!"

"Then what am I supposed to call you?"

"Ghost King, as is my proper title."

"Then what will you call me?"

"Perce, Kelp Head, Fish Face, Algae Ar-"

"Language Nicky," Percy mock-chided. "And _'that's not my proper title'_" He said the last part in a high-pitched imitation of Nico's voice.

"If I called you by your proper title, we'd be here all day," Nico reasoned.

Percy thought for a moment. "Touché."

**I swallowed. One of the giants had his hand around Beckendorf's neck. I was in no shape to rescue him, and even if I tried, he would die before I got there. We both would. **

"You're so pessimistic," Astoria said again.

"And this is any of your business because?"

**Beckendorf mouthed one word: _Go. _**

**I shook my head. I couldn't just leave him. **

"That loyalty is going to get you killed." Nico made frantic, frustrated hand gestures as he spoke.

"It nearly has, on more occasions then I care to imagine."

**The second giant was still rummaging through the peach cans, which meant Beckendorf's left arm was free. He raised it slowly—toward the watch on his right wrist. **

"NO!" Lucy said franticly, even though she knew this had already happened.

**I wanted to scream, _NO! _**

No-one commented on the repeat

**Then down by the swimming pool, one of the _dracaenae _hissed, "What isss he doing? What isss that on hisss wrissst?" **

**Beckendorf closed eyes tight and brought his hand up to his watch. **

**I had no choice. I threw my sword like a javelin at Kronos. It bounced harmlessly off his chest, but it did startle him. I pushed through a crowd of monsters and jumped off the side of the ship—toward the water a hundred feet below. **

"You're going to be squished," Marisa said matter-of-factly.

"I'm a son of Poseidon," Percy replied, like he was talking to a three-year-old. "I'm unharmed by water; it can only heal me."

**I heard rumbling deep in the ship. Monsters yelled at me from above. A spear sailed past my ear. An arrow pierced my thigh, but I barely had time to register the pain. I plunged into the sea and willed the currents to take me far, far away—a hundred yards, two hundred yards. **

**Even from that distance, the explosion shook the world. Heat seared the back of my head. The _Princess Andromeda _blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything. **

**Beckendorf, I thought.**

**Then I blacked out and sank like an anchor toward the bottom of the sea.**

Percy shut the book.

"Well, that was depressing," Declan said.

"No shit," Nico snapped. "Well," he stood up, "I've got to go back to the Underworld; Dad needs me." He ran into the wall and disappeared.

Then the bell rang and the students walked out


	3. I Meet Some Fishy Relatives

**Chapter 2 - I Meet Some Fishy Relatives**

**Quick A/N here, I was thinking of making Percy and Annabeth have slight PTSD, because to me it seems like something that would happen if you were in Tartarus, so I'll put hints of it in here, but the decision will be down to you. If I don't get more then five responses (in total) then the answer is yes.**

**Peace, love and Percabeth,**

**Destruction's Daughter (do you like the new pen name?) **

**In reply to reviews:**

**Tom Marvolo Riddle 2 - Sorry, I just realised that. I had it written down and everything but it hasn't come through. . . ? I have no idea what happened, I think I fixed it, but Idk.**

Reading the first chapter of the book didn't improve Percy's popularity status.

All it got him was more stares in the corridor, more comments about how he was a 'freak' and basically making his life more unpleasant.

They had English on first period Mondays, first period Thursdays, and then 1 & 2 on Friday, meaning Percy had two days with nothing but classmates pestering him about what happened next. He ignored them.

That Thursday, Percy came out of his apartment to find Annabeth about to knock. He laughed and kissed her before wrapping her in a hug. "How are you Annie," he asked. He was the only one allowed to call her that without being death-glared.

"I'm good," she replied, smiling. "I heard you were reading a book about the Titan War, and I was wondering if I could join in."

"Of course you can!" Percy said. "Come on, I'll drive you."

After the Giant War, Percy had gotten a car from his dad - a blue Mustang - along with blessings from some different gods, like a better singing voice from Apollo, and charms from others, like the watch from Hephaestus and Hades, which turned into a shield and allowed him to transport anywhere in the Underworld.

Walking through the hallways of Goode hand-in-hand with a girl when you're the school freak - well, even more people whispered. Percy and Annabeth acted like they didn't notice. They met up with Lucy at the door of the English classroom before walking inside.

"Hey Paul," Annabeth greeted.

"Hello Annabeth," Paul replied. "It's been ages! How are you?"

"I'm good thanks." Marisa and Lucy (the smartest and most perceptive people in the class) couldn't help but notice how Annabeth had the same slightly far away quality in her voice and eyes, as though she was stretched between staying in the present, and falling into a painful past. They wondered what happened.

Annabeth sat down, and Percy decided he'd read, which most of the class decided was fitting as it was in his point of view. He sat with his arm around Annabeth, who had her head resting on his shoulder, idly playing with her hair in the hand that wasn't holding the book. Cara and Samantha were internally squealing.

"**Chapter 2**," Percy read, "**I Meet Some Fishy Relatives**."

**Demigod dreams suck. **

**The thing is, they're never just **_**dreams. **_**They've got to be visions, omens, and all that other mystical stuff that makes my brain hurt. **

"You're not the only one," Annabeth said.

**I dreamed I was in a dark palace at the top of a mountain. Unfortunately, I recognized it: the palace of the Titans on top of Mount Othrys, otherwise known as Mount Tamalpais, in California. The main pavilion was open to the night, ringed with black Greek columns and statues of the Titans. Torchlight glowed against the black marble floor. In the center of the room, an armored giant struggled under the weight of a swirling funnel cloud—Atlas, holding up the sky. **

"I wonder what it's like to hold up the sky?" Jared wondered idly.

"It hurts like Tartarus," Percy told him, before continuing to read.

**Two other giant men stood nearby over a bronze brazier, studying images in the flames. **

**"Quite an explosion," one said. He wore black armor studded with silver dots like a starry night. His face was covered in a war helm with a ram's horn curling on either side. **

"Krios?" Marisa asked.

"Yes."

**"It doesn't matter," the other said. This Titan was dressed in gold robes, with golden eyes like Kronos. **

**His entire body glowed. He reminded me of Apollo, God of the Sun, except the Titan's light was harsher, and his expression crueler. **

"Helios?" Marisa asked again.

Percy and Annabeth shook their heads.

"Who then?"

"Listen and find out," was all Annabeth said in response; Percy was already reading.

**"The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed." **

"Yeah right!" Abelard scoffed.

"You'd be surprised at how close a call it was," Percy told him. "I have no idea how we won the Giant War."

**The images in the fire were hard to make out: storms, buildings crumbling, mortals screaming in terror. **

**"I will go east to Marshall our forces," the golden Titan said. "Krios, you shall remain and guard Mount Othrys." **

**The ram horn dude grunted. "I always get the stupid jobs. Lord of the South. Lord of Constellations. Now I get to babysit Atlas while **_**you **_**have all the fun." **

"Who knew a Titan could have a sense of humor?" Declan speculated.

"They don't," Percy said immediately, "Krios just likes to whine."

**Under the whirlwind of clouds, Atlas bellowed in agony, "Let me out, curse you! I am your greatest warrior. Take my burden so I may fight!" **

"Someone has a big ego," Astoria chided.

"He's right though," Percy replied.

**"Quiet!" the golden Titan roared. "You had your chance, Atlas. You failed. Kronos likes you just where you are. As for you, Krios, do your duty." **

"What does he mean, he had his chance?" Marisa asked.

"I think he's is talking about when I got kidnapped," Annabeth said.

"Yeah, I had to fight him," Percy said, "then I took the weight of the sky off Lady Artemis so she could defeat him and put him back under the sky."

Before the class could ask any more questions, Percy kept reading.

**"And if you need more warriors?" Krios asked. "Our treacherous nephew in the tuxedo will not do you much good in a fight." **

"He was a creep," Percy interrupted himself.

**The golden Titan laughed. "Don't worry about him. Besides, the gods can barely handle our first little challenge. They have no idea how many others we have in store. Mark my words, in a few days' time, Olympus will be in ruins, and we will meet here again to celebrate the dawn of the Sixth Age!" **

"Yeah, right," Lucy said, rolling her eyes.

**The golden Titan erupted into flames and disappeared. **

**"Oh, sure," Krios grumbled. "He gets to erupt into flames. I get to wear these stupid ram's horns." **

The class laughed; even if he was whiny, Krios was funny.

**The scene shifted. Now I was outside the pavilion, hiding in the shadows of a Greek column. A boy stood next to me, eavesdropping on the Titans. He had dark silky hair, pale skin, and dark clothes—my friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades. **

"Wasn't that the kid who was here yesterday?" Erica asked.

Percy scowled. "Yes." He didn't like Erica. She was barely smarter then he was, but acted like she was Einstein or Newton reincarnated.

"He was really scary."

"He's fourteen," Percy pointed out. "You're scared of a kid three and a half years younger then you?"

**He looked straight at me, his expression grim. "You see, Percy?" he whispered. "You're running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?" **

"What plan?" Marisa asked.

She was ignored. She huffed

**His words washed over me as cold as the ocean floor, and my dreams went black. **

**"Percy?" a deep voice said. **

**My head felt like it had been microwaved in aluminum foil.**

"And you know how this feels how?" Cara asked snootily. Again, ignored.

**I opened my eyes and saw a large shadowy figure looming over me. **

**"Beckendorf?" I asked hopefully. **

**"No, brother." **

**My eyes refocused. I was looking at a Cyclops—a misshapen face, ratty brown hair, one big brown eye full of concern. "Tyson?" **

**My brother broke into a toothy grin. "Yay! Your brain works!" **

"I doubt that," Annabeth teased looking up at Percy.

"Well we can't all be children of Athena," he replied, smiling at her tenderly. Anyone with eyes could see they were in love.

The girls resisted the urge to coo, knowing it would ruin the moment.

**I wasn't so sure. **

"See, you agree with me," Annabeth said triumphantly.

"I never disagreed with you," Percy pointed out. "I merely said that I'm not as intelligent as you, which is a well-known fact."

**My body felt weightless and cold. My voice sounded wrong. I could hear Tyson, but it was more like I was hearing vibrations inside my skull, not the regular sounds. **

**I sat up, and a gossamer sheet floated away. I was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room paneled with abalone shell. Glowing pearls the size of basketballs floated around the ceiling, providing light. I was under water. **

"COOL!" Declan shouted.

**Now, being the son of Poseidon and all, I was okay with this. I can breathe underwater just fine, and my clothes don't even get wet unless I want them to. **

"Again, cool."

**But it was still a bit of a shock when a hammerhead shark drifted through the bedroom window, regarded me, and then swam calmly out the opposite side of the room. **

The class laughed

**"Where—" **

**"Daddy's palace," Tyson said. **

**Under different circumstances, I would've been excited. I'd never visited Poseidon's realm, and I'd been dreaming about it for years. But my head hurt. My shirt was still speckled with burn marks from the explosion. My arm and leg wounds had healed—just being in the ocean can do that for me, given enough time—but I still felt like I'd been trampled by a Laistrygonian soccer team in cleats. **

"Laistrygonians in cleats," Annabeth mused. "That would hurt like Hades.

"It did," Percy confirmed.

**"How long—" **

**"We found you last night," Tyson said, "sinking through the water." **

**"The **_**Princess Andromeda**_**?" **

**"Went ka-boom," Tyson confirmed. **

"Went ka-boom. . ." Declan repeated. "I like your brother Percy."

Percy rolled his eyes. "So he likes my brother who he's never even met but doesn't like me, who he never even gave a chance," he muttered, so only Annabeth could hear him.

**"Beckendorf was on board. Did you find . . ." **

The room darkened at the mention of Beckendorf.

**Tyson's face darkened. "No sign of him. I am sorry, brother." **

**I stared out the window into deep blue water. Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. **

"Poor Silena," Samantha murmured.

"She was devastated," Percy said.

**He had a girlfriend, lots of friends, his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be **_**gone. **_**Maybe he'd made it off the ship like I had. Maybe he'd jumped over the side . . . and what? He couldn't have survived a hundred-foot fall into the water like I could. He couldn't have put enough distance between himself and the explosion. **

**I knew in my gut he was dead. He'd sacrificed himself to take out the **_**Princess Andromeda, **_**and I had abandoned him. **

Annabeth hit Percy lightly in the chest. "Don't think like that," she scolded. "It wasn't your fault, it was Beckendorf's choice and there was nothing you could have done without jeopardizing the mission."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yes mom."

Annabeth laughed, which of course made Percy grin, before resuming the book. Again, the girls tried not to coo.

**I thought about my dream: the Titans discussing the explosion as if it didn't matter, Nico di Angelo warning me that I would never beat Kronos without following his plan—a dangerous idea I'd been avoiding for more than a year. **

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me," Annabeth grumbled. "And then actually went through with it!"

"What was I meant to do?" Percy reasoned. "If I'd told you, you wouldn't have let me do it, and then we would've lost!"

Annabeth seemed to consider this. "Okay, point taken."

**A distant blast shook the room. Green light blazed outside, turning the whole sea as bright as noon. **

**"What was that?" I asked. **

**Tyson looked worried. "Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters." **

"I like this guy," Declan declared.

"So do we," Percy and Annabeth said, not looking at him.

**The palace might have been the most amazing place I'd ever seen if it hadn't been in the process of getting destroyed. We swam to the end of a long hallway and shot upward on a geyser. As we rose over the rooftops I caught my breath—well, if you can catch your breath underwater. **

"Can you?" Abelard asked.

"Can I what?" Percy said, confused.

"Catch your breath under water," he replied, as though it should be obvious.

"I don't know, nor do I care."

**The palace was as big as the city on Mount Olympus, with wide courtyards, gardens, and columned pavilions. The gardens were sculpted with coral colonies and glowing sea plants. Twenty or thirty buildings were made of abalone, white but gleaming with rainbow colors. Fish and octopi darted in and out of the windows. The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights. **

"That's beautiful," Astoria whispered.

"When it's not being destroyed," Percy added under his breath.

**The main courtyard was filled with warriors—mermen with fish tails from the waist down and human bodies from the waist up, except their skin was blue, which I'd never known before. Some were tending the wounded. Some were sharpening spears and swords. One passed us, swimming in a hurry. His eyes were bright green, like that stuff they put in glo-sticks, and his teeth were shark teeth. They don't show you stuff like that in **_**The Little Mermaid. **_

"You have the weirdest thoughts," Samantha said.

"And the best," Declan added.

**Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications—towers, walls, and antisiege weapons—but most of these had been smashed to ruins. Others were blazing with a strange green light that I knew well—Greek fire, which can burn even underwater. **

**Beyond this, the sea floor stretched into gloom. I could see battles raging—flashes of energy, explosions, the glint of armies clashing. A regular human would've found it too dark to see. Heck, a regular human would've been crushed by the pressure and frozen by the cold. Even my heat-sensitive eyes couldn't make out exactly what was going on. **

"Your powers are so cool!" Declan said.

"Oh please," Matt scoffed. "He's probably made it all up."

Nancy nodded her head in agreement, whereas Annabeth shot them the death-glare.

**At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the farthest gardens. Out of the darkness above, an enormous form appeared—a squid larger than any skyscraper. It was surrounded by a glittering cloud of dust—at least I thought it was dust, until I realized it was a swarm of mermen trying to attack the monster. The squid descended on the palace and swatted its tentacles, smashing a whole column of warriors. Then a brilliant arc of blue light shot from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings. The light hit the giant squid, and the monster dissolved like food coloring in water. **

"Oh. That's a little less. . . pretty," Astoria finished lamely.

Percy and Annabeth snorted. "We're in the middle of a war to save the world," Annabeth said incredulously, "and you're worried about how it looks? Mortals!"

**"Daddy," Tyson said, pointing to where the light had come from. **

_**"He **_**did that?" I suddenly felt more hopeful. My dad had unbelievable powers. He was the god of the sea. He could deal with this attack, right? Maybe he'd let me help. **

The class smiled.

**"Have you been in the fight?" I asked Tyson in awe. "Like bashing heads with your awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?" **

**Tyson pouted, and immediately I knew I'd asked a bad question, "I have been . . . fixing weapons," he mumbled. "Come. Let's go find Daddy." **

"He should be letting him help," Jared said scornfully.

"He was trying to protect him," Percy snapped at him. "Which means he's a good father, unlike yours, if he let you turn out like this."

"BURN!" Declan shouted.

**I know this might sound weird to people with, like, regular parents, but I'd only seen my dad four or five times in my life, **

"Only four or five." Annabeth shook her head. "Most demigods are lucky to see their parents once."

**and never for more than a few minutes. The Greek gods don't exactly show up for their kids' basketball games. Still, I thought I would recognize Poseidon on sight. **

**I was wrong. **

**The roof of the temple was a big open deck that had been set up as a command center. A mosaic on the floor showed an exact map of the palace grounds and the surrounding ocean, but the mosaic moved. **

"Cool."

"WILL YOU STOP SAYING THAT?"

**Colored stone tiles representing different armies and sea monsters shifted around as the forces changed position. Buildings that collapsed in real life also collapsed in the picture. **

**Standing around the mosaic, grimly studying the battle, was a strange assortment of warriors, but none of them looked like my dad. I was searching for a big guy with a good tan and a black beard, wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. **

"_That's_ what Poseidon looks like?" Nancy asked, astounded.

Percy and Annabeth snorted again. "What," Percy said, "do you think they'd always be in Greek _chitons_ or togas? They adapt with the West you know."

**There was nobody like that. One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one. His skin was green, his armor studded with pearls. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he looked young—though it's hard to tell with non-humans. They could be a thousand years old or three. Standing next to him was an old man with a bushy white beard and gray hair. His battle armor seemed to weigh him down. He had green eyes and smile wrinkles around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. He was studying the map and leaning on a large metal staff. To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armor with flowing black hair and strange little horns like crab claws. And there was a dolphin—just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently. **

"Triton, Poseidon, Amphitrite and Delphin?" Lucy guessed.

Percy nodded.

Marisa looked miffed that Lucy figured it out before her.

**"Delphin," the old man said. "Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans." **

**The dolphin spoke in a chattering voice, but I could understand it in my mind: **_**Yes, lord! **_**It sped away. **

**I looked in dismay at Tyson, then back at the old man. **

**It didn't seem possible, but . . . "Dad?" I asked. **

"But, isn't he a god?" Marisa asked.

"No, he's an ostrich." Percy rolled his eyes. "Of course he's a god!"

"So, can't he look any way he wants to?"

"Perhaps if you let me read the book, you would find out."

**The old man looked up. I recognized the twinkle in his eyes, but his face . . . he looked like he'd aged forty years. **

**"Hello, Percy." **

**"What—what happened to you?" **

"You manage to tick of every immortal Percy," Annabeth said rolling her eyes. Percy grinned

**Tyson nudged me. He was shaking his head so hard I was afraid it would fall off, but Poseidon didn't look offended. **

**"It's all right, Tyson," he said. "Percy, excuse my appearance. The war has been hard on me." **

**"But you're immortal," I said quietly. "You can look . . . any way you want." **

"That's what I was saying!"

"Marisa, you're annoying me, will you please be quiet?"

**"I reflect the state of my realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you—I'm afraid you just missed my lieutenant Delphin, God of the Dolphins. This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear— "**

"Awwkwwaarrrd," Declan drawled.

"Tell me about it," Percy grumbled in response.

**The lady in green armor stared at me coldly, then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle." **

**She swam away. **

**I felt pretty awkward, but I guess I couldn't blame her. I'd never thought about it much, but my dad had an immortal wife. All his romances with mortals, including with my mom . . . well, Amphitrite probably didn't like that much. **

"I don't blame her either," Lucy said.

**Poseidon cleared his throat. "Yes, well. . . and this is my son Triton. Er, my **_**other **_**son." **

"Even more awkward," Matt said.

**"Your son and heir," the green dude corrected. His double fish tails swished back and forth. He smiled at me, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello, Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?" **

**He acted like I was late or lazy. If you can blush underwater, I probably did. **

"Can you blush underwater?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know," Percy replied.

**"Tell me what to do," I said. **

**Triton smiled like that was a cute suggestion—like I was a slightly amusing dog that had barked for him or something. He turned to Poseidon. "I will see to the front line, Father. Don't worry. **_**I**_** will not fail." **

**He nodded politely to Tyson. How come I didn't get that much respect? Then he shot off into the water. **

**Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff, and it changed into his regular weapon—a huge three-pointed trident. The tip glowed with blue light, and the water around it boiled with energy. **

**"I'm sorry about that," he told me. **

**A huge sea serpent appeared from above us and spiraled down toward the roof. It was bright orange with a fanged mouth big enough to swallow a gymnasium. **

**Hardly looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the beast and zapped it with blue energy. **_**Ka-boom! **_

**The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror. **

"Ha," Matt said.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Are you calling my dad's powers funny?"

"N-no," Matt stuttered, because, as much as he hated it, he was scared of Percy. "I just thought the monster blowing up was funny."

This time, Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "So you think it's funny that we're at war?"

"No!" Mat hastily denied. "I was- I was just- I mean- I don't know what I mean."

"Well, when you find out," Percy said, "be sure to tell us."

**"My family is anxious," Poseidon continued as if nothing had happened. "The battle against Oceanus is going poorly." **

**He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword he wielded a live serpent. **

**"Oceanus," I said, trying to remember. "The Titan of the sea?" **

"So you _do_ listen to me sometimes!" Annabeth said triumphantly.

"I always listen to you, but I forget it in five minutes," Percy told her.

**Poseidon nodded. "He was neutral in the first war of gods and Titans. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is . . . well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side." **

**"He looks stupid," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I mean, who fights with a snake?" **

**"Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly. **

**Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. "I appreciate your faith. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me—sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them." **

"That's not good," Lucy fretted.

"It's okay Lucy; we win, don't we?" Percy assured her.

She smiled, but she was really thinking about the cost of the victory.

**I heard an explosion in the distance. About half a mile away, a mountain of coral disintegrated under the weight of two giant creatures. I could dimly make out their shapes. One was a lobster. The other was a giant humanoid like a Cyclops, but he was surrounded by a flurry of limbs. At first I thought he wearing a bunch of giant octopi. Then I realized they were his own arms—a hundred flailing, fighting arms. **

**"Briares!" I said. **

"The hundred-handed one?" Marisa asked.

Percy and Annabeth nodded in confirmation.

**I was happy to see him, but he looked like he was fighting for his life. He was the last of his kind—a Hundred-Handed One, cousin of the Cyclopes. We'd saved him from Kronos's prison last summer, and I knew he'd come to help Poseidon, but I hadn't heard of him since. **

"I'm not even going to ask," Nancy said wearily.

"It would probably be best you didn't," Annabeth agreed.

**"He fights well," Poseidon said. "I wish we had a whole army like him, but he is the only one." **

**I watched as Briares bellowed in rage and picked up the lobster, which thrashed and snapped its pincers. He threw it off the coral mountain, and the lobster disappeared into the darkness. Briares swam after it, his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat. **

**"Percy, we may not have much time," my dad said. "Tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?" **

"Maybe, kinda," Declan said sarcastically. "They only nearly killed each other!"

"Kronos nearly killed me, Declan," Percy reminded him. "Not vice-versa."

**I told him everything, though my voice choked up when I explained about Beckendorf. I looked down at the courtyards below and saw hundreds of wounded mermen lying on makeshift cots. I saw rows of coral mounds that must've been hastily made graves. I realized Beckendorf wasn't the first death. He was only one of hundreds, maybe thousands. I'd never felt so angry and helpless. **

"That's really sad," Astoria said. Percy resisted the urge to comment, _No, it's amazing! We should be dancing on their graves!_ Sarcastically, of course.

**Poseidon stroked his beard. "Percy, Beckendorf chose a heroic death. You bear no blame for that. Kronos's army will be in disarray. Many were destroyed." **

**"But we didn't kill him, did we?" **

"Nope," Annabeth said, popping the 'p'.

**As I said it, I knew it was a naive hope. We might blow up his ship and disintegrate his monsters, but a Titan lord wouldn't be so easy to kill. **

"That's depressing," Sloan commented idly.

**"No," Poseidon admitted. "But you've bought our side some time." **

**"There were demigods on that ship," I said, thinking of the kid I'd seen in the stairwell. Somehow I'd allowed myself to concentrate on the monsters and Kronos. I'd convinced myself that destroying their ship was all right because they were evil, they were sailing to attack my city, and besides, they couldn't really be permanently killed. Monsters just vaporized and re-formed eventually. But demigods . . . **

"And that's depressing too," Sloan added.

**Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder. "Percy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos. Perhaps some heeded your warning and escaped. If they did not . . . they chose their path." **

**"They were brainwashed!" I said. "Now they're dead and Kronos is still alive. That's supposed to make me feel better?" **

"You don't talk to gods like that!" Marisa reprimanded.

"I've spoken to gods worse then that," Percy said dismissively, waving his hand.

**I glared at the mosaic—little tile explosions destroying tile monsters. It seemed so easy when it was just a picture. **

**Tyson put his arm around me. If anybody else had tried that, I would've pushed him away, but Tyson was too big and stubborn. He hugged me whether I wanted it or not. **

"Aw," Astoria cooed.

**"Not your fault, brother. Kronos does not explode good. Next time we will use a big stick." **

"A big stick?" Sloan asked, eyebrow raised.

"Tyson's preferred weapon is a club," Annabeth explained. "He calls it a big stick."

**"Percy," my father said. "Beckendorf's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You have scattered the invasion force. New York will be safe for a time, which frees the other Olympians to deal with the bigger threat." **

**"The bigger threat?" I thought about what the golden Titan had said in my dream: **_**The gods have**__**answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed. **_

**A shadow passed over my father's face. "You've had enough sorrow for one day. Ask Chiron when you return to camp." **

"Ask him what?" Marisa asked.

No answer, but Percy and Annabeth smiled at her wolfishly, enjoying her suffering.

**"Return to camp? But you're in trouble here. I want to help!" **

**"You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere." **

**I couldn't believe I was hearing this. I looked at Tyson for backup. **

**My brother chewed his lip. "Daddy . . . Percy can fight with a sword. He is good." **

"Understatement of the millennia," Annabeth said proudly.

Percy read on before any questions could be asked.

**"I know that," Poseidon said gently. **

**"Dad, I can help," I said. "I know I can. You're not going to hold out here much longer." **

"Have some faith, Prissy," Nancy said, rolling her eyes.

Percy didn't deem that worthy of a response.

**A fireball launched into the sky from behind the enemy lines. I thought Poseidon would deflect it or something, but it landed on the outer corner of the yard and exploded, sending mermen tumbling through the water. Poseidon winced as if he'd just been stabbed. **

**"Return to camp," he insisted. "And tell Chiron it is time." **

**"For what?" **

**"You must hear the prophecy. The **_**entire **_**prophecy." **

"WHAT PROPHECY?" Marisa screeched.

Again, no answer but two wolfish grins.

**I didn't need to ask him which prophecy. I'd been hearing about the "Great Prophecy" for years, but nobody would ever tell me the whole thing. All I knew was that I was supposed to make a decision that would decide the fate of the world—but no pressure. **

"No pressure at all," Declan agreed sarcastically.

**"What if **_**this **_**is the decision?" I said. "Staying here to light, or leaving? What if I leave and you . . ." **

**I couldn't say **_**die. **_**Gods weren't supposed to die, but I'd seen it happen. Even if they didn't die, they could be reduced to nearly nothing, exiled, imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus like Kronos had been. **

"Pan faded," Annabeth said softly.

Percy kissed her forehead. "Yeah, but Grover became Lord of the Wild," he said, so quietly that no-one but Annabeth could hear him.

**"Percy, you must go," Poseidon insisted. "I don't know what your final decision will be, but your fight lies in the world above. If nothing else, you must warn your friends at camp. Kronos knew your plans. You have a spy. We will hold here. We have no choice." **

**Tyson gripped my hand desperately. "I will miss you, brother!" **

**Watching us, our father seemed to age another ten years.**

"Aw, he cares!" Astoria cooed.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Most gods care for their kids, it's just my dad shows it the most."

**"Tyson, you have work to do as well, my son. They need you in the armory." **

**Tyson pouted some more. **

**"I will go," he sniffled. He hugged me so hard he almost cracked my ribs. "Percy, be careful! Do not let monsters kill you dead!" **

"Yeah Percy," Declan pretend agreed. "You've got to let them kill you alive!"

**I tried to nod confidently, but it was too much for the big guy. He sobbed and swam away toward the armory, where his cousins were fixing spears and swords. **

**"You should let him fight," I told my father. "He hates being stuck in the armory. Can't you tell?" **

**Poseidon shook his head. "It is bad enough I must send you into danger. Tyson is too young. I must protect him." **

**"You should trust him," I said. "Not try to protect him." **

"You really shouldn't be talking to your dad like that," Abelard scolded.

"Abelard?"

"Yes Annabeth?"

"Shut up."

"Shutting up."

**Poseidon's eyes flared. I thought I'd gone too far, but then he looked down at the mosaic and his shoulders sagged. On the tiles, the mermaid guy in the crawfish chariot was coming closer to the palace. **

**"Oceanus approaches," my father said. "I must meet him in battle." **

**I'd never been scared for a god before, but I didn't see how my dad could face this Titan and win. **

"Have some faith," Lucy chided gently.

Percy looked at her sharply. "You weren't there. The whole thing looked pretty hopeless."

"Well the war against Gaea looked pretty hopeless, didn't it," Annabeth told him. Percy shrugged and kept reading.

**"I will hold," Poseidon promised. "I will not give up my domain. Just tell me, Percy, do you still have the birthday gift I gave you last summer?" **

**I nodded and pulled out my camp necklace. It had a bead for every summer I'd been at Camp Half-Blood, but since last year I'd also kept a sand dollar on the cord. My father had given it to me for my fifteenth birthday. **

"But he's a god!" Abelard exclaimed. "He could give you anything, and he gave you a sand dollar?"

Percy looked at him coldly. "It was very useful, actually."

**He'd told me I would know when to "spend it," but so far I hadn't figured out what he meant. All I knew was that it didn't fit the vending machines in the school cafeteria. **

"Only you Percy, only you," Cara said.

"You don't know anything about me," Percy told her quietly. "Nothing of worth, anyway. You never even gave me a chance."

Cara didn't have a response to that.

**"The time is coming," he promised. "With luck, I will see you for your birthday next week, and we will have a proper celebration." **

Annabeth shook her head. "That's not very encouraging. Percy has no luck."

"I hate to prove you wrong, but you're my girlfriend, aren't you?" Percy asked her, eyebrow raised. "I'd call that a very big bit of good luck."

Annabeth smiled at him.

**He smiled, and for a moment I saw the old light in his eyes. **

**Then the entire sea grew dark in front of us, like an inky storm was rolling in. Thunder crackled, which should've been impossible underwater. A huge icy presence was approaching. I sensed a wave of fear roll through the armies below us. **

**"I must assume my true godly form," Poseidon said. "Go—and good luck, my son." **

**I wanted to encourage him, to hug him or something, but knew better than to stick around. When a god assumes his true form, the power is so great that any mortal looking on him will disintegrate. **

"Well that's just great," Nancy said sarcastically.

**"Good-bye, Father," I managed. **

**Then I turned away. I willed the ocean currents to aid me. Water swirled around me, and I shot toward the surface at speeds that would've caused any normal human to pop like a balloon. **

"Your powers are so cool," Declan whined.

"There are some pretty big bonuses to being Poseidon's child," Percy told him. "But there's a massive catch."

"Like what?"

Percy stared at him. "Have you been paying attention to the book so far?"

**When I looked back, all I could see were flashes of green and blue as my father fought the Titan, and the sea itself was torn apart by the two armies. **

Percy closed the book. "And that's the end of the chapter."

Paul looked at the clock. "We've got another half-hour. Let's see how much of the next chapter we can get done, huh?"

Percy shrugged. "Good with me."

Annabeth stood. "I've got to get back to Camp. I have stuff to do."

Percy gave her a quick kiss. "See you soon Annie."

Annabeth smiled at him, said goodbye to Paula and Lucy, but ignored everyone else and walked out.

Percy opened the book again. "**Chapter Three, I Get A Sneak Peak At My Death.**"


	4. I Get A Sneak Peak At My Death

**Chapter 3 - I Get a Sneak Peek At My Death**

**REAL IMPORTANT NOTICE:**

**I NEED TO KNOW WHICH STORY I SHOULD UPDATE NEXT. THERE'S A POLL ON MY PROFILE!**

**In reply to reviews:**

**The Heroic Girl - how did the reactions not seem real?**

**riptide (guest) - Yeah, I know, but the thing is I stink at names, so I usually borrow them until such time as I think of others. Also, I don't like to have really creative titles, as when someone looks it up in the search engine or on Google, it may not come up, but thank you for your concern!**

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**Thank you for reading.**

**Could someone please tell me how to do those cool line breaks please?**

"**Chapter Three**," Percy read. "**I Get A Sneak Peak At My Death**."

**If you want to be popular at Camp Half-Blood, don't come back from a mission with bad news. **

"Duh," Jared sneered.

"I liked it better when you were quiet," Percy commented offhandedly, as though he were talking about the weather.

**Word of my arrival spread as soon as I walked out of the ocean. Our beach is on the North Shore of Long Island, and it's enchanted so most people can't even see it. People don't just **_**appear **_**on the beach unless they're demigods or gods or really, really lost pizza delivery guys. (It's happened—but that's another story.) **

"Tell the story," Declan pleaded.

"Long story short - the Stoll brothers prank called the pizza place."

**Anyway, that afternoon the lookout on duty was Connor Stoll from the Hermes cabin. **

"He was the one who prank called them," Percy interrupted himself.

**When he spotted me, he got so excited he fell out of his tree.**

Most people laughed at that.

**Then he blew the conch horn to signal the camp and ran to greet me. **

**Connor had a crooked smile that matched his crooked sense of humor. He's a pretty nice guy, but you should always keep one hand on your wallet when he's around, and do not, under any circumstances, give him access to shaving cream unless you want to find your sleeping bag full of it. **

"I like him already," Declan said.

"Someone call for a handsome son of Hermes?" a voice said from the window.

The class turned to find two identical looking boys sitting by the open window.

"I'm Travis," said the shorter one.

"I'm Connor," said the taller one.

"And we're the sons of the most awesomest god ever, Hermes!" they said together.

Percy sighed. "No, _you_ are Travis," he pointed to the taller one, "and _you_ are Connor," he pointed at the smaller one, "_awesomest_ is not a word, and _Poseidon_ is the most awesome god. Learn your facts. What would Katie say Travis?"

Travis turned beet red.

Percy sighed. "You still haven't asked her out, have you?"

Connor sighed with Percy. "My lovely older brother needs to grow a pair. She's not gonna wait forever, Travie."

"Have you asked Lou out yet?" Percy asked him cheekily.

Connor turned the same shade of red as his brother. "I don't like her like that!"

"Of course you don't," Percy agreed in a way that made you sure he didn't agree. "So," he changed topic, "why are you here?"

Connor - or was it Travis? - grinned. "Well, Annabeth I-Med Chiron to tell us that she was coming back, but Chiron was telling us off at the time for startling a few new Demeter kids, but she told us that you were reading a book about the Titan War, and we thought we'd pop in."

"Great. Just great." Percy shook his head. "Well then, sit down, we just started the chapter."

"Where are you up to?" the shorter one asked.

"You just fell out of a tree."

"Damn."

**He's got curly brown hair and is a little shorter than his brother, Travis, which is the only way I can tell them apart. They are both so unlike my old enemy Luke it's hard to believe they're all sons of Hermes. **

Travis and Connor scowled. It didn't look right on their faces.

**"Percy!" he yelled. "What happened? Where's Beckendorf?" **

**Then he saw my expression, and his smile melted. "Oh, no. Poor Silena. Holy Zeus, when she finds out . . ." **

"She'll be crushed," Samantha whispered.

**Together we climbed the sand dunes. A few hundred yards away, people were already streaming toward us, smiling and excited. **_**Percy's back, **_**they were probably thinking. **_**He's saved the day! Maybe he **__**brought souvenirs! **_

"Your thoughts are so weird," Nancy said, shaking her head.

"That's already been said, Nancy."

**I stopped at the dining pavilion and waited for them. No sense rushing down there to tell them what a loser I was. **

"Damn right you're a loser, Jackson," Jared sneered.

"Percy? Could I please go and get Piper?" Connor asked. "I'm getting the feeling he's going to be annoying a lot."

Percy shook his head. "If you want to run all the way to Camp Jupiter, be my guest."

"I'm gonna pass."

**I gazed across the valley and tried to remember how Camp Half-Blood looked the first time I ever saw it. That seemed like a bajillion years ago. **

"Bajillion isn't a number Percy," Marisa said, rolling her eyes.

"Does he look like he cares?" Travis asked her.

"He should."

"Yes, because knowing whether bajillion is a number is going to help me so much in later life," Percy said dryly.

**From the dining pavilion, you could see pretty much everything. Hills ringed the valley. On the tallest, Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree stood with the Golden Fleece hanging from its branches,**

"Is that the _real_ Golden Fleece?" Lucy asked, wide-eyed.

"Yup," Travis replied, popping the 'p'.

"Retrieved by the one," Connor started.

"The only," Travis continued.

"PERCY JACKSON!" they finished together.

Percy scowled at them. "Don't make me bring in Katie," he threatened.

They shut up, but Travis looked a bit as though he'd like to see her.

**magically protecting the camp from its enemies. The guard dragon Peleus was so big now I could see him from here—curled around the tree trunk, lending up smoke signals as he snored. **

"You have a dragon?" Declan asked giddily.

"Yes," Travis said.

**To my right spread the woods. To my left, the canoe lake glittered and the climbing wall glowed from the lava pouring down its side. **

"You have a climbing wall with LAVA?" Cara asked incredulously.

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Percy said, eyebrow raised.

"Is there anything you _don't_ have?" Nancy asked.

The three demigods looked at each other, and were came to the same conclusion. "Sugary food," they said wistfully, before being drawn into daydreams of ice cream and cake.

Percy quickly snapped out of it, though, and continued reading.

**Twelve cabins—one for each Olympian god—made a horseshoe pattern around the commons area. Farther south were the strawberry fields, the armory, and the four-story Big House with its sky blue paint job and its bronze eagle weathervane. **

"It sounds beautiful," Cara whispered, awestruck.

"It is," Percy said, Travis and Connor nodding along with him. "When we're not at war," Percy proceeded to add, to which the Stolls agreed again.

**In some ways, the camp hadn't changed. But you couldn't see the war by looking at the buildings or the fields. You could see it in the faces of the demigods and satyrs and naiads coming up the hill. **

**There weren't as many at camp as four summers ago. Some had left and never come back. Some had died fighting. Others—we tried not to talk about them—had gone over to the enemy. **

"I wouldn't like to talk about them either," Lucy said.

**The ones who were still here were battle-hardened and weary. There was little laughter at camp these days. Even the Hermes cabin didn't play so many pranks. It's hard to enjoy practical jokes when your whole life feels like one. **

"That time sucked," Travis stated bluntly.

"Even pranking the Demeter cabin wasn't fun," Connor complained.

**Chiron galloped into the pavilion first, which was easy for him since he's a white stallion from the waist down. His beard had grown wilder over the summer. He wore a green T-shirt that said MY OTHER CAR IS A CENTAUR and a bow slung over his back. **

**"Percy!" he said. "Thank the gods. But where . . ." **

**Annabeth ran in right behind him, and I'll admit my heart did a little relay race in my chest when I saw her. It's not that she tried to look good. We'd been doing so many combat missions lately, she hardly brushed her curly blond hair anymore, and she didn't care what clothes she was wearing—usually the same old orange camp T-shirt and jeans, and once in a while her bronze armor. Her eyes were stormy gray. Most of the time we couldn't get through a conversation without trying to strangle each other. Still, just seeing her made me feel fuzzy in the head. Last summer, before Luke had turned into Kronos and everything went sour, there had been a few times when I thought maybe . . . well, that we might get past the strangle-each-other phase. **

"Aw," most of the girls cooed, with the exception of Nancy and Marisa. Nancy because she didn't like Percy, and Marisa because she didn't like romance.

**"What happened?" She grabbed my arm. "Is Luke—" **

**"The ship blew up," I said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where—" **

**Silena Beauregard pushed through the crowd. Her hair wasn't combed and she wasn't even wearing makeup, which wasn't like her. **

**"Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around like he might be hiding. **

"Who's Charlie?" Declan asked.

"Charles Beckendorf you idiot!" Lucy scolded, slapping him upside the head.

"That reminds me of you and Katie, Travis," Percy commented offhandedly before turning to the book.

**I glanced at Chiron helplessly. **

**The old centaur cleared his throat. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House—" **

**"No," she muttered. "No. **_**No." **_

**She started to cry, and the rest of us stood around, too stunned to speak. We'd already lost so many people over the summer, but this was the worst. With Beckendorf gone, it felt like someone had stolen the anchor for the entire camp. **

"That was how it was when you were kidnapped Perce," Connor said, "except worse."

**Finally Clarisse from the Ares cabin came forward. She put her arm around Silena. They had one of the strangest friendships ever—a daughter of the war god and a daughter of the love goddess—but ever since Silena had given Clarisse advice last summer about her first boyfriend, Clarisse had decided she was Silena's personal bodyguard. **

"That _is_ a strange friendship," Marisa said.

**Clarisse was dressed in her blood red combat armor, her brown hair tucked into a bandana. She was as big and beefy as a rugby player, with a permanent scowl on her face, but she spoke gently to Silena. **

The Stolls gasped. "You're telling me," Connor started.

"That _Clarisse_," Travis continued.

"Can be _gentle_?" they finished together.

Percy shrugged. "She was then."

**"Come on, girl," she said. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate."**

"I love hot chocolate," Lucy sighed.

**Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes, heading back to the cabins. Nobody was excited to see me now. Nobody wanted to hear about the blown-up ship. **

**Only Annabeth and Chiron stayed behind. **

**Annabeth wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm glad you're not dead, Seaweed Brain." **

"Aw," the girls cooed.

**"Thanks," I said. "Me too."**

That brought a few laughs from the class.

**Chiron put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy. Will you tell us what happened?" **

**I didn't want to go through it again, but I told them the story, including my dream about the Titans. I left out the detail about Nico. Nico had made me promise not to tell anybody about his plan until I made up my mind, and the plan was so scary I didn't mind keeping it a secret. **

"What is it?" Marisa asked.

"Not telling."

**Chiron gazed down at the valley. "We must call a war council immediately, to discuss this spy, and other matters." **

**"Poseidon mentioned another threat," I said. "Something even bigger than the **_**Princess Andromeda. **_**I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream." **

**Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks, like they knew something I didn't. I hated when they did that. **

"So do we," the Stolls chorused.

"But we also hate it," Travis said.

"When you and Annabeth," Connor continued.

"Do that," Travis finished.

"We don't do that!" Percy protested weakly.

"Uh, yeah," said Connor.

"You do," said Travis.

Percy grumbled and turned back to the book.

**"We will discuss that also," Chiron promised. **

**"One more thing." I took a deep breath. "When I talked to my father, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy." **

**Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he didn't look surprised. "I've dreaded this day. Very well. Annabeth, we will show Percy the truth—all of ****it. ****Let's go to the attic." **

"Why the attic?" Lucy asked.

"It's where the Oracle lived," Percy said shortly.

"Live_d_?" Lucy said, stressing the _d_.

"Yes. Lived." Percy read on before any more questions could be asked.

**I'd been to the Big House attic three times before, which was three times more than I wanted to. **

"Why?" Jared teased.

"Scared?" Matt joined in.

"Yes," the three demigods said as one, before shivering.

"The Oracle was scary," Percy elaborated.

The other two nodded enthusiastically.

**A ladder led up from the top of the staircase. I wondered how Chiron was going to get up there, being half horse and all, but he didn't try. **

**"You know where it is," he told Annabeth. "Bring it down, please." **

**Annabeth nodded. "Come on, Percy." **

**The sun was setting outside, so the attic was even darker and creepier than usual. Old hero trophies were slacked everywhere—dented shields, pickled heads in jars from various monsters, a pair of fuzzy dice on a bronze plaque that read: STOLEN FROM CHRYSAOR'S HONDA CIVIC, BY GUS, SON OF HERMES, 1988. **

"Oh he was our role model," the Stolls told the class.

"Master thief," said Connor.

"He was," Travis finished.

**I picked up a curved bronze sword so badly bent it looked like the letter **_**M. **_**I could still see green stains on the metal from the magical poison that used to cover it. The tag was dated last summer. It read: **_**Scimitar of Kampê, destroyed in the Battle of the Labyrinth. **_

"Last summer?" Astoria asked incredulously.

"Being a demigod is really dangerous," Percy said by way of explanation. "And this generation even more so due to the wars."

**"You remember Briares throwing those boulders?" I asked. **

**Annabeth gave me a grudging smile. "And Grover causing a Panic?" **

**We locked eyes. I thought of a different time last summer, under Mount St. Helens, when Annabeth thought I was going to die and she kissed me. **

"Aw," Samantha cooed. "Wait, she kissed you and you didn't get the message?" she demanded.

"Well, when I got back she started ignoring me, then when I talked to Rachel, she got angry at me, and I liked Rachel at the time, so I wasn't sure who I liked in _that way_, so I was really confused, so can you blame me?" Percy ranted before tuning back to the book.

**She cleared her throat and looked away. "Prophecy." **

**"Right." I put down the scimitar. "Prophecy." **

**We walked over to the window. On a three-legged stool sat the Oracle—a shriveled female mummy m a tie-dyed dress. Tufts of black hair clung to her skull. Glassy eyes stared out of her leathery face. Just looking at her made my skin crawl. **

Everyone shivered.

**If you wanted to leave camp during the summer, it used to be you had to come up here to get a quest. This summer, that rule had been tossed. Campers left all the time on combat missions. We had no choice if we wanted to stop Kronos. **

"Depressing," Abelard commented.

**Still, I remembered too well the strange green mist—the spirit of the Oracle—that lived inside the mummy. She looked lifeless now, but whenever she spoke a prophecy, she moved. Sometimes fog gushed out of her mouth and created strange shapes. Once, she'd even left the attic and taken a little zombie stroll into the woods to deliver a message. **

"Okay, that'd been creepy," Travis said.

Percy and Connor nodded along with him.

**I wasn't sure what she'd do for the "Great Prophecy." I half expected her to start tap dancing or something. **

The Stolls rolled their eyes. "Only you, Perce. Only you."

**But she just sat there like she was dead—which she was. **

"Why is it a mummy?" Marisa asked herself, but the demigods didn't hear.

**"I never understood this," I whispered. **

**"What?" Annabeth asked. **

**"Why it's a mummy." **

"Yeah, why is she a mummy?" Travis asked.

"You never told us, if you found out," Connor said.

"You'll find out in this book."

**"Percy, she didn't used to be a mummy. For thousands of years the spirit of the Oracle lived inside a beautiful maiden. The spirit would be passed on from generation to generation. Chiron told me **_**she **_**was like that fifty years ago." Annabeth pointed at the mummy. "But she was the last." **

"What happened," asked Connor.

"You'll find out," Percy said shortly.

**"What happened?" **

"Ha, you think like Percy!" Travis said, laughing.

"I think like Connor?!" Percy half-asked, half-wailed.

"I think like Percy?" Connor said in the same tone.

"NO!" they wailed in sync, before starting to laugh.

**Annabeth started to say something, then apparently changed her mind. "Let's just do our job and get out of here." **

"Aw," the class - Stolls included - groaned.

Percy looked smug.

**I looked nervously at the Oracle's withered face. "So what now?" **

**Annabeth approached the mummy and held out her palms. "O Oracle, the time is at hand. I ask for the Great Prophecy." **

"That was dramatic," Connor commented absentmindedly.

**I braced myself, but the mummy didn't move. Instead, Annabeth approached and unclasped one of its necklaces. I'd never paid too much attention to its jewelry before. I figured it was just hippie love beads and stuff. But when Annabeth turned toward me, she was holding a leather pouch—like a Native American medicine pouch on a cord braided with feathers. She opened the bag and took out a roll of parchment no bigger than her pinky. **

"You're kidding," Matt said.

**"No way," I said. "You mean all these years, I've been asking about this stupid prophecy, and it's been right there around her neck?" **

"That would be a bummer," Declan sympathized.

**"The time wasn't right," Annabeth said. "Believe me, Percy, I read this when I was ten years old, and I still have nightmares about it." **

"Is it really that bad?" Lucy asked.

The demigods' expressions darkened. "Yes," Travis said.

Connor said, "It was."

**"Great," I said. "Can I read it now?" **

**"Downstairs at the war council," Annabeth said. "Not in front of . . . you know." **

**I looked at the glassy eyes of the Oracle, and I decided not to argue. We headed downstairs to join the others. I didn't know it then, but it would be the last time I ever visited the attic. **

"Foreshadowing," Marisa pointed out.

**The senior counselors had gathered around the Ping-Pong table. **

"Why a Ping-Pong table?" Nancy asked. "If it's for planning strategies, wouldn't you want something a bit more . . . I dunno, formal?"

The demigods just sighed, as though they couldn't be bothered answering such a trivial question.

**Don't ask me why, but the rec room had become the camp's informal headquarters for war councils.**

"Oh."

**When Annabeth, Chiron, and I came in, though, it looked more like a shouting match. **

**Clarisse was still in full battle gear. Her electric spear was strapped to her back. (Actually, her **_**second**_** electric spear, since I'd broken the first one. She called the spear "Maimer." Behind her back, everybody else called it "Lamer.") She had her boar-shaped helmet under one arm and a knife at her belt. **

**She was in the midst of yelling at Michael Yew, the new head counselor for Apollo, which looked kind of funny since Clarisse was a foot taller. Michael had taken over the Apollo cabin after Lee Fletcher died in battle last summer.**

The demigods looked down at the reminder, and the class looked appalled. After all, these were kids _their age_, fighting and dying in battle. It wasn't right.

**Michael stood four feet six, with another two feet of attitude. **

"That's an odd but accurate way of looking at it," Travis approved thoughtfully.

**He reminded me of a ferret, with a pointy nose and scrunched-up features—either because he scowled so much or because he spent too much time looking down the shaft of an arrow. **

"Probably both," Percy added to his former self's statement.

**"It's **_**our **_**loot!" he yelled, standing on his tiptoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "If you don't like it, you can kiss my quiver!" **

"Kiss my quiver," Declan snickered.

**Around the table, people were trying not to laugh—the Stoll brothers, **

"Hey, there's us!" Two guesses who said that. It was both of them.

**Pollux from the Dionysus cabin, Katie Gardner **

"Travis's future girlfriend," Connor added.

Travis grumbled something about that not being true, but Connor looked at him pityingly as though saying _Someday you'll realize how wrong you were, and how right I was_.

**from Demeter. Even Jake Mason, the hastily appointed new counselor from Hephaestus, managed a faint smile. Only Silena Beauregard didn't pay any attention. She sat beside Clarisse and stared vacantly at the Ping-Pong net. Her eyes were red and puffy. A cup of hot chocolate sat untouched in front of her. It seemed unfair that she had to be here. I couldn't believe Clarisse and Michael standing over her, arguing about something as stupid as loot, when she'd just lost Beckendorf. **

The class looked down at the reminder.

**"STOP IT!" I yelled. "What are you guys doing?" **

**Clarisse glowered at me. "Tell Michael not to be a selfish jerk." **

**"Oh, that's perfect, coming from you," Michael said. **

**"The only reason I'm here is to support Silena!" Clarisse shouted. "Otherwise I'd be back in my cabin." **

"You know," Percy said, "she's a jerk, Clarisse is, but she's a loyal friend."

"I've never actually thought about it that way," Connor said.

**"What are you talking about?" I demanded. **

**Pollux cleared his throat. "Clarisse has refused to speak to any of us, until her, um, issue is resolved.**

Marisa asked, "What issue?"

They decided to let the book answer her.

**She hasn't spoken for three days." **

"It was wonderful," Travis said wistfully.

**"It's been wonderful," Travis Stoll said wistfully. **

"Don't repeat yourself, Travie," Connor mock-scolded.

"DON'T CALL ME TRAVIE!"

**"What issue?" I asked. **

"That's what I want to know!" Marisa shouted.

"Jeez, who put a kink in your _chiton_?" Travis asked her.

Marisa huffed but otherwise ignored him.

**Clarisse turned to Chiron. "You're in charge, right? Does my cabin get what we want or not?" **

**Chiron shuffled his hooves. "My dear, as I've already explained, Michael is correct. Apollo's cabin has the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters—" **

**"Sure," Clarisse snapped. "Always more important matters than what Ares needs. We're just supposed to show up and light when you need us, and not complain!" **

"That would be good," Declan said.

Lucy slapped him over his head. "Maybe they've been screwed over in the past and finally want some recognition, you can't blame them."

"Yeah, but it was just loot," Percy jumped in. "And, considering what she's about to do, she overreacts quite a bit. It costs someone their life."

"Oh."

**"That would be nice," Connor Stoll muttered. **

"High five bro!" Connor said. "You think like me!"

They high fived and Percy face-palmed.

**Clarisse gripped her knife. "Maybe I should ask Mr. D—" **

"Who's Mr. D?" Marisa asked.

"It says in the book."

**"As you know," Chiron interrupted, his tone slightly angry now, "our director, Dionysus, **

"Your camp director is a _god_?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, but we wish he wasn't," Connor told her.

"The guy's a pain," Travis said.

"Refuses to call anyone by name," Percy added.

**is busy with the war. He can't be bothered with this." **

**"I see," Clarisse said. "And the senior counselors? Are **_**any **_**of you going to side with me?" **

**Nobody was smiling now. None of them met Clarisse's eyes. **

**"Fine." Clarisse turned to Silena. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into this when you've just lost . . . Anyway, I apologize. To **_**you. **_**Nobody else." **

**Silena didn't seem to register her words. **

**Clarisse threw her knife on the Ping-Pong table. "All of you can fight this war without Ares. Until I get satisfaction, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying."**

"Okay, I get she's upset, but that's a little far," Astoria said.

"Like I said, it costs someone their life."

**The counselors were all too stunned to say anything as Clarisse stormed out of the room. **

**Finally Michael Yew said, "Good riddance." **

"What?" Lucy protested. "This is a disaster!"

**"Are you kidding?" Katie Gardner protested. "This is a disaster!" **

"You think like Travis's soul mate," Percy told her.

"I don't like her like that!" Travis protested, blushing furiously.

"Of course you don't," Connor said, smirking.

**"She can't be serious," Travis said. "Can she?" **

**Chiron sighed. "Her pride has been wounded. She'll calm down eventually." But he didn't sound convinced. **

**I wanted to ask what the heck Clarisse was so mad about, but I looked at Annabeth and she mouthed the words **_**I'll tell you later. **_

**"Now," Chiron continued, "if you please, counselors. Percy has brought something I think you should hear. Percy—the Great Prophecy." **

**Annabeth handed me the parchment. It felt dry and old, and my fingers fumbled with the string. I uncurled the paper, trying not to rip it, and began to read: **

_**"A half-blood of the eldest dogs . . ." **_

"Is that a typo?" Marisa asked.

"No," Percy answered. "It was my dyslexia acting up."

**"Er, Percy?" Annabeth interrupted. "That's **_**gods. **_**Not **_**dogs**_**." **

"Oh."

**"Oh, right," I said. Being dyslexic is one mark of a demigod, but sometimes I really hate it. The more nervous I am, the worse my reading gets. **_**"A half-blood of the eldest gods . . . shall reach sixteen against all**__** odds . . ." **_

**I hesitated, staring at the next lines. A cold feeling started in my fingers as if the paper was freezing. **

"How bad was it?" Astoria asked.

"Oh please," Jared sneered. "I bet it wasn't that bad, he's just making it seem like it."

"Do the world a favour," Travis said.

"And shut up," Connor said.

_**"And see the world in endless sleep, **_

_**The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap." **_

"Okay that's my question answered," Astoria said in a way that made you think she would much rather it remain a mystery.

"Not to be rude," Abelard butted in, "but how are you alive?"

"I got skill," Percy replied smugly.

**Suddenly Riptide seemed heavier in my pocket. A cursed blade? Chiron once told me Riptide had brought many people sorrow. Was it possible my own sword could get me killed? And how could the world fall into endless sleep, unless that meant death? **

**"Percy," Chiron urged. "Read the rest." **

**My mouth felt like it was full of sand, but I spoke the last two lines. **

_**"A single choice shall . . . shall end his days. **_

_**Olympus to per**_**— **_**pursue**_**—" **

_**"Preserve," **_**Annabeth said gently. "It means **_**to save. **_**" **

**"I know what it means," I grumbled. **

A few in the class chuckled; the rest were wondering how Percy was still alive.

_**"Olympus to preserve or raze." **_

**The room was silent. Finally Connor Stoll said, "Raise is good, isn't it?" **

"Hey! There's me again!"

"We can see that, Connor," Percy said, as if talking to a two-year-old.

**"Not **_**raise, **_**" Silena said. Her voice was hollow, but I was startled to hear her speak at all. "R-a-z-e means **_**destroy. **_**" **

**"Obliterate," Annabeth said. "Annihilate. Turn to rubble." **

"Thanks Annie," Travis said. "Made us feel so much better."

**"Got it." My heart felt like lead. "Thanks." **

**Everybody was looking at me—with concern, or pity, or maybe a little fear. **

"Why fear?" Matt asked.

"Because I had to make a decision to decide the fate of the world that would probably get me killed, so they were either a) scared I'd die or b) scared I'd make the wrong decision," Percy said matter-of-factly.

**Chiron closed his eyes as if he were saying a prayer. In horse form, his head almost brushed the lights in the rec room. "You see now, Percy, why we thought it best not to tell you the whole prophecy. You've had enough on your shoulders—" **

**"Without realizing I was going to die in the end anyway?" I said. "Yeah, I get it." **

**Chiron gazed at me sadly. The guy was three thousand years old. He'd seen hundreds of heroes die. He might not like it, but he was used to it. He probably knew better than to try to reassure me. **

The Stolls nodded. "He does."

**"Percy," Annabeth said. "You know prophecies always have double meanings. It might not literally mean you die." **

**"Sure," I said. **_**"A single choice shall end his days. **_**That has tons of meanings, right?" **

**"Maybe we can stop it," Jake Mason offered. **_**"The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. **_**Maybe we could find this cursed blade and destroy it. Sounds like Kronos's scythe, right?" **

"You can't stop a prophecy," Marisa said softly.

**I hadn't thought about that, but it didn't matter if the cursed blade was Riptide or Kronos's scythe. Either way, I doubted we could stop the prophecy. A blade was supposed to reap my soul. As a general rule, I preferred not to have my soul reaped. **

"Of course," Travis said, rolling his eyes. "It _is_ a general rule for us demigods."

"It's a general rule for everyone," Paul pointed out. Most people jumped having forgotten he was there.

**"Perhaps we should let Percy think about these lines," Chiron said. "He needs time—" **

**"No." I folded up the prophecy and shoved it into my pocket. I felt defiant and angry, though I wasn't sure who I was angry with. "I don't need time. If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right?" **

"That was brave of you," Lucy told Percy.

Percy shrugged. "I was more concerned for my friends' lives at the time. If it had been at any other time, I wouldn't be so collected."

**Annabeth's hands were shaking a little. She wouldn't meet my eyes. **

"Aw, she's scared for you," Cara cooed.

**"Let's move on," I said. "We've got other problems. We've got a spy." **

**Michael Yew scowled. "A spy?" **

**I told them what had happened on the **_**Princess Andromeda**_**—how Kronos had known we were coming, how he'd shown me the silver scythe pendant he'd used to communicate with someone at camp. **

**Silena started to cry again, and Annabeth put an arm around her shoulders. **

The demigods looked sad for a moment - at the time they thought she was just upset for Beckendorf, but now they knew.

**"Well," Connor Stoll said uncomfortably, "we've suspected there might a spy for years, right? Somebody kept passing information to Luke—like the location of the Golden Fleece a couple of years ago. It must be somebody who knew him well." **

**Maybe subconsciously, he glanced at Annabeth. She'd known Luke better than anyone, of course, but Connor looked away quickly. "Um, I mean, it could be anybody." **

**"Yes." Katie Gardner frowned at the Stoll brothers. She'd disliked them ever since they'd decorated the grass roof of the Demeter cabin with chocolate Easter bunnies. **

"That was just Travis's way of flirting," Percy interrupted himself.

"Yea- hey!" Travis said, blushing.

"Oh don't deny it," Connor teased. "You _know_ you like her!"

"Yeah," Percy backed him up. "I had archery with Cabin 10 a while ago. They were plotting to get you guys together."

Travis didn't deem that worthy of response.

**"Like one of Luke's siblings."**

The Stolls looked angry. An expression that, like a scowl, didn't look right on their faces. "We would never!"

**Travis and Connor both started arguing with her. **

**"Stop!" Silena banged the table so hard her hot chocolate spilled. "Charlie's dead and . . . and you're all arguing like little kids!" She put her head down and began to sob. **

"Poor Silena," Erica said.

**Hot chocolate trickled off the Ping-Pong table. Everybody looked ashamed. **

**"She's right," Pollux said at last. "Accusing each other doesn't help. We need to keep our eyes open for a silver necklace with a scythe charm. If Kronos had one, the spy probably does too." **

**Michael Yew grunted. "We need to find this spy before we plan our next operation. Blowing up the **_**Princess Andromeda **_**won't stop Kronos forever." **

**"No indeed," Chiron said. "In fact his next assault is already on the way." **

**I scowled. "You mean the 'bigger threat' Poseidon mentioned?" **

**He and Annabeth looked at each other like, **_**It's time. **_**Did I mention I hate it when they do that? **

"Yes," Travis said.

"And we," Connor continued.

"Hate it."

"When you."

"And Annabeth."

"Do that."

Percy huffed but said nothing.

**"Percy," Chiron said, "we didn't want to tell you until you returned to camp. You needed a break with your . . . mortal friends." **

**Annabeth blushed. It dawned on me that she knew I'd been hanging out with Rachel, and I felt guilty. Then I felt angry that I felt guilty. I was allowed to have friends outside camp, right? It wasn't like . . . **

"Riiiight," Cara drawled, stretching the 'i'.

**"Tell me what's happened," I said. **

**Chiron picked up a bronze goblet from the snack table. He tossed water onto the hot plate where we usually melted nacho cheese. **

"Ah, nacho cheese," Travis sighed.

"One of our few luxuries," Connor finished.

**Steam billowed up, making a rainbow in the fluorescent lights. Chiron fished a golden drachma out of his pouch, tossed it through the mist, and muttered, "O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat." **

"That won't work," Marisa sang.

"Actually," Percy told her, "it will. It's called Iris Messaging. Iris sends messages to the gods, and if she's not too busy she'll do the same for demigods."

**The mist shimmered. I saw the familiar image of a smoldering volcano—Mount St. Helens. As I watched, the side of the mountain exploded. Fire, ash, and lava rolled out. A newscaster's voice was saying **_**" **_**— **_**even larger than last year's eruption, and geologists warn that the mountain may not be done." **_

**I knew all about last year's eruption. I'd caused it.**

"You caused Mount St. Helens to erupt?!" Samantha practically screamed.

"Yeah, kinda," Percy said sheepishly. "Nearly killed me, but yeah."

The class's eyes bugged.

**But this explosion was much worse. The mountain tore itself apart, collapsing inward, and an enormous form rose out of the smoke and lava like it was emerging from a manhole. I hoped the Mist would keep the humans from seeing it clearly, because what I saw would've caused panic and riots across the entire United States. **

"What else is new?" Travis asked rhetorically.

"Everything about our world is scary," Connor said. "If mortals actually saw what happened during the Titan and Giant wars, they wouldn't have waited for an explanation and just hunted down demigods."

"We wouldn't!" Marisa defended.

"Um, actually," Percy butted in. "It was really scary, and you mortals aren't made for combat like us. You get scared too easily and don't think clearly."

The mortals in the room huffed, but didn't deny it.

**The giant was bigger than anything I'd ever encountered. Even my demigod eyes couldn't make out its exact form through the ash and fire, but it was vaguely humanoid and so huge it could've used the Chrysler Building as a baseball bat. The mountain shook with a horrible rumbling, as if the monster were laughing. **

**"It's him," I said. "Typhon." **

"Unfortunately," Percy sighed.

**I was seriously hoping Chiron would say something good, like **_**No, that's our huge friend Leroy! He's **__**going to help us!**_

"I wish," Connor said. "Would've been so much easier."

"Yeah, maybe the gods could've helped us," Travis replied.

"But what's done is done," Percy said.

**But no such luck. He simply nodded. "The most horrible monster of all, the biggest single threat the gods ever faced. He has been freed from under the mountain at last. But this scene is from two days ago. **_**Here **_**is what is happening today." **

**Chiron waved his hand and the image changed. I saw a bank of storm clouds rolling across the Midwest plains. Lightning flickered. Lines of tornadoes destroyed everything in their path—ripping up houses and trailers, tossing cars around like Matchbox toys. **

_**"Monumental floods," **_**an announcer was saying. **_**"Five states declared disaster areas as the freak**__**storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction." **_**The cameras zoomed in on a column of storm bearing down on some Midwest city. I couldn't tell which one. Inside the storm I could see the giant—just small glimpses of his true form: a smoky arm, a dark clawed hand the size of a city block. His angry roar rolled across the plains like a nuclear blast. Other smaller forms darted through the clouds, circling the monster. I saw flashes of light, and I realized the giant was trying to swat them. I squinted and thought I saw a golden chariot flying into the blackness. Then some kind of huge bird—a monstrous owl—dived in to attack the giant. **

"Are they the gods?" Marisa asked.

"Yup," Percy answered, popping the 'p'.

**"Are those . . . the gods?" I said. **

**"Yes, Percy," Chiron said. "They have been fighting him for days now, trying to slow him down. But Typhon is marching forward—toward New York. Toward Olympus." **

**I let that sink in. "How long until he gets here?" **

**"Unless the gods can stop him? Perhaps five days. Most of the Olympians are there . . . except your father, who has a war of his own to fight." **

**"But then who's guarding Olympus?" **

**Connor Stoll shook his head. "If Typhon gets to New York, it won't matter who's guarding Olympus." **

Percy and Travis gasped.

"What?" Connor asked irritably.

"You just said something smart," Percy started.

"Without joking!" Travis said.

"It's the end of the world!" they finished together.

"I can be smart!" protested Connor weakly.

"Suuurrrre," Percy drawled, rolling his eyes.

**I thought about Kronos's words on the ship: **_**I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you **__**realize how I will destroy Olympus. **_

"Yeah, like we would let you," Connor snorted.

**Was this what he was talking about: an attack by Typhon? It was sure terrifying enough. But Kronos was always fooling us, misdirecting our attention. This seemed too obvious for him. And in my dream, the golden Titan had talked about several more challenges to come, as if Typhon were only the first.**

**"It's a trick," I said. "We have to warn the gods. Something else is going to happen." **

"I hope it's not worse than Typhon," Lucy fretted, worried for her best friend.

**Chiron looked at me gravely. "Something worse than Typhon? I hope not." **

No-one bothered to comment on the repeat.

**"We have to defend Olympus," I insisted. "Kronos has another attack planned." **

**"He did," Travis Stoll reminded me. "But you sunk his ship." **

**Everyone was looking at me. They wanted some good news. They wanted to believe that at least I'd given them a little bit of hope. **

"You never fail to give us hope, Perce," Travis said.

Percy looked touched, but covered it with a joke. He mock-gasped. "Did the great Travis Stoll," he said disbelievingly, "prankster supreme, just say something _meaningful_? Honestly, I thought Katie would be the first to experience meaningful comments from you!"

Travis blushed. "I don't like Katie like that, will you let it go?"

Percy smirked evilly. "Never!"

**I glanced at Annabeth. I could tell we were thinking the same thing: What if the **_**Princess Andromeda**_** was a ploy? What if Kronos **_**let **_**us blow up that ship so we'd lower our guard? **

"I wouldn't say that in front of Silena," Samantha warned. "Her boyfriend sacrificed himself for that mission."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I'm tactless, granted, but I'm not _that_ tactless."

**But I wasn't going to say that in front of Silena. Her boyfriend had sacrificed himself for that mission. **

"Oh."

"Yeah, _oh_."

**"Maybe you're right," I said, though I didn't believe it. **

**I tried to imagine how things could get much worse. The gods were in the Midwest fighting a huge monster that had almost defeated them once before. Poseidon was under siege and losing a war against the sea Titan Oceanus. Kronos was still out there somewhere. Olympus was virtually undefended. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood were on our own with a spy in our midst. **

**Oh, and according to the ancient prophecy, I was going to die when I turned sixteen—which happened to be in five days, the exact same time Typhon was supposed to hit New York. Almost forgot that. **

"Jeez Aqua Man, I knew you were sarcastic, but _this_ sarcastic? You put Travis and I to shame," Connor said.

Percy smiled. "I'm the _King of Sarcasm_ for a reason, you know."

**"Well," Chiron said, "I think that's enough for one night." **

"That's an understatement," Matt muttered.

Percy and the Stolls held back snickers.

**He waved his hand and the steam dissipated. The stormy battle of Typhon and the gods disappeared. **

**"That's an understatement," I muttered. **

"You think like Percy," Connor said, smirking evilly.

"Which isn't a good thing, unless you are a) incredibly sarcastic, b) have a knack for getting yourself in and out of trouble, or c) both," Travis told him.

Matt looked slightly scared, as he was none of those things.

**And the war council adjourned. **

"Well that was depressing," Percy said, closing the book. Just then, the bell rang. Travis and Connor walked to the window, but Travis took a longer route then Connor.

"Bye everyone," Travis said.

"It was nice meeting you," Connor said.

"And we think you might like these back," they chorused, before dumping a pile of phones, wallets and keys on the table near the window.

"Adios!" And, with that, they jumped out of the window and ran back to camp.


End file.
